u 


£, 


6 


J- 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 
RIVERSIDE 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

PRO!' .  FRED  PETERSEN 

Spanish  Department 

University  of  California,  Riverside 

PRESENTED  BY 

His  Wife 


Spain  of  the  Spanish 


UNIFORM  WITH  THIS  VOLUME 


Countries  and  Peoples  Series 

Each  in  imperial  16mo,  cloth  gilt,  gilt 

top,  with  about  30  full-page  plate 

illustrations,  6s.  ntt. 


Italy  of  the  Italians.      By  Helen 

ZiMMERN. 

France    of    the    French.     By     E. 
Harrison  Barker. 

Switzerland     of     the     Swiss.     By 
Frank  Webb. 

Germany     of     the     Germans.     By 
Robert  M.  Berry. 

Turkey  of  the  Ottomans.     By  Lucy 
M.  J.  Garnett. 

Belgium    of    the    Belgians.        By 
Demetrius  C.  Boulger. 

Servia  of  the  Servians.     By  Chedo 

MlJATOVICH. 

Japan  of  the  Japanese.    By  Joseph 
H.  Longford. 


Volumes  in  preparation  on  Russia, 
Austria,  etc. 


Spain  of  the  Spanish 


By 

Mrs.  Villiers-Wardell 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 
597-599  Fifth  Avenue 
1915 


Printed  by 
Sir  Isaac  Pitman  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  London 


To 
IDALIA 

MY   COLLABORATRICE    AND    MY    BEST    FRIEND 


PREFACE 

I  THINK  most  persons  find  themselves  willing  to  speak,  or 
write,  of  anything  they  like  very  much.  But  sometimes  it 
happens,  at  least  this  is  my  personal  experience,  that  spoken 
words  and  written  thoughts,  on  subjects  which  interest  us 
greatly,  seem  weak  and  inadequate.  The  fear  of  seeming  to 
say  too  much  makes  us,  not  infrequently,  say  too  little,  and 
then — ^how  difficult  it  is  to  make  people  see  through  our  eyes  ! 

The  difficulty  of  writing  reasonably  and  effectively  about 
Spain  oppresses  me  at  this  moment  :  just  when  I  have  written 
the  last  line  of  the  last  chapter  in  this  book.  It  has  been  a 
very  real  pleasure,  this  task  of  trying  to  indicate  some  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  wonderful  Land  of  the  Unexpected,  but 
now  that  it  has  come  to  an  end  I  feel,  and  very  keenly,  my 
own  shortcomings. 

Love  counts  for  something  in  this  funny  old  world  of  ours, 
but  to  give  an  adequate  impression  of  a  great  country,  some- 
thing more  than  love  for  it  is  required.  However,  I  take 
consolation  from  the  fact — and  it  is  a  fact — that  without 
love  one  cannot  hope  to  learn,  much  less  to  teach,  the  secrets 
of  Spain.  Of  love  I  have  enough  and  to  spare,  and  this  is 
easily  accounted  for,  since  I  have  always  enjoyed  a  thoroughly 
good  time  in  the  Peninsula  and,  without  exception,  I  have 
found  its  people  sympathetic. 

The  Spaniards  possess  one  special  quahty  which  is  absolutely 
priceless.  They  are  naturally  trustful.  Even  to  strangers 
they  extend  the  hand  of  good-fellowship,  without  the  least 
fear  or  suspicion  that  such  confidence  may  be  misplaced. 
They  are  quick  to  resent  and  slow  to  forgive  a  betrayal  of 
trust ;  but  in  the  beginning,  before  anything  has  been  done 
to  arouse  reserve,  they  are  frankly  friendly,  as  children.     And 


Viu  PREFACE 

of  all  qualities  this  is  one  of  the  most  delightful,  for  it  enables 
a  stranger  to  enter  into  the  national  life  :  to  wander,  as  it 
were,  behind  the  scenes. 

I  have  said,  somewhere  in  the  chapter  on  Literature,  that 
a  true  realist  must  set  aside  his  personal  thoughts  and  feelings 
and  content  himself  with  stating  facts.  But  then  one  cannot 
state  facts  unless  one  knows  them,  and  one  cannot  know  a 
Country  and  a  People  unless  one  is  in  sympathy  with  them. 
And  the  parent  of  sympathy  is  understanding,  just  as  the 
parent  of  understanding  is  trust.  And  so  we  find  ourselves 
once  again  appreciating  that  most  splendid  quality  of  the 
Spaniard  to  which  I  have  above  alluded  ! 

It  is  very  possible  that  here  and  there  in  these  pages  English 
readers  may  find  ideas  and  sentiments  with  which  they  are 
not  in  accord,  but  always  the  title  of  the  book  must  be 
remembered.  Spain  of  the  English  is  not  at  all  the  same 
thing  as  Spain  of  the  Spanish  ! 

Very  specially  my  thanks  are  due  to  Dr.  Jose  Aviles,  brother 
of  the  Caridad,  Sevilla  ;  to  the  Marques  de  Castejon,  Mr. 
Arthur  Pyman,  Mr.  Luis  Dotesio  and  Don  Manuel  Trascierra. 

I  must  also  express  my  indebtedness  to  Sefior  Vinardell, 
whose  Conferences,  delivered  at  the  Sorbonne,  threw  so  much 
light  on  the  Catalan  question. 

JANIE  VILLIERS-WARDELL 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

I.  COURT  AND   STATE 

II.  MODERN   LITERATURE 

III.  MODERN   PAINTERS 

IV.  PLAYS  AND   PLAYERS 
V.  THE   PRESS 

VI.  SPORTS  AND   PASTIMES 

VII.  MUSIC  AND   MUSICIANS 

VIII.  SPAIN   OF  TO-MORROW 

IX,  CHURCHES  AND   MONUMENTS 

X.  COMMERCE   AND   INDUSTRIES 

XI.  THE    SPANISH 

XII.  FIESTAS — RELIGIOUS   AND    SECULAR 

XIII.  CATALUNA  AND  THE   CATALANS 


PAGC 
1 

26 

62 

86 

97 

106 

138 

155 

166 

189 

211 

227 

239 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


THE  KING        ......  Frontispiece 


FACING 
PAGE 


THE   QUEEN  ......  4 

PRINCE   OF  THE   ASTURIAS     .....  8 

ROYAL  PALACE  AT  MADRID  ....  10 

CASINO  AT  SAN   SEBASTIAN   .  .  .  .  .12 

CALLE   MAYOR         ......  22 

THE   ESCORIAL.  .  .  .  .  .  .34 

BLASCO  IBANEZ      ......  54 

LAS   MENINAS  .......         64 

A   GARDEN   SCENE    (SOROLLA)  ...  66 

DIEGO   LOPEZ  .......         78 

MARIA   GUERRERO  .....  94 

RAMIRO   DE   MAEZTU   ......       102 

PLAZA   DE   TOROS  .  .  .  .  .  .  114 

ENTRY   OF   THE    CUADRILLAS  .  .  .  .116 

MACHAQUITO  .  .  .  .  .  .  122 

MANTON    DE    MANILA  .  .  .  .  .  .134 

JOSE   OTERO  ......  136 


XU  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 
PACK 

PELANDO  LA   PAVA      .  .  .  .  .  .146 

FERNANDEZ  ARBOS             .               .               .               .               .  166 

THE   ALHAMBRA  .  .  .  .  .  .170 

MOSQUE  AT  CORDOVA       .               .               .               .               .  172 

CATHEDRAL    (SEVILLA)               .....  174 

GIRALDA  OF  SEVILLA          .              .              .              .              .  178 

EXAMPLE  OF  A   RETABLO   (OVIEDO  CATHEDRAL)                      .  182 

MONTSERRAT      .                   .....  188 

A   BEAUTIFUL   SEVILLANA                       ....  216 

PATIO   IN    SEVILLA               .....  226 

FIESTA    ANDALUZA                       .....  228 

HOLY   WEEK    PROCESSION                ....  230 

THE    SEISES                       ......  232 

BARCELONA   CATHEDRAL                    .              r              .               .  252 


Spain   of  the   Spanish 


CHAPTER   I 

COURT  AND   STATE 

What  a  very  little  time  it  seems  since  that  memorable  day, 

in  May,  1901,  when  "the  boy  King" — Alfonso  XIII — came 

face  to  face,  for  the  first  time,  as  a  ruler,  with 

The  King.       his  people  and  with  his  parliament  !     Less 

than  twelve  years,  and  yet  in  that  time  how 

much  has  been  accomphshed  by  him  and  by  his  Ministers ! 

Bonds  of  friendship  and  good-will  have  been  greatly 
strengthened  between  Spain  and  the  leading  Powers  of 
Europe.  King  Alfonso  has  attached  himself  to  England  by 
the  closest  possible  ties,  and  it  may  very  well  be  that  in  the 
near  future  England  will  prove  to  be  Spain's  most  valuable^ 
ally,  even  from  a  purely  commercial  point  of  view,  for  the 
countries  are  within  easy  reach  of  each  other,  and  Spain 
produces,  in  quantities,  many  articles  which  are  necessary 
to  England  and  which  she  does  not  produce  :  such  as  wines, 
fruits,  olives  and  minerals.  A  direct  commercial  communica- 
tion— on  a  very  extensive  scale — between  England  and  Spain 
could  not  fail  to  be  of  immense  advantage  to  both  countries. 

The  present  iruler  of  Spain  was  singularly  blessed  in  his 
parents.  His  father,  Don  Alfonso  XII,  was  a  brilliant  and 
successful  monarch  who  understood  how  to 
Don  Alfonso  XII.  make  himself  respected  by  his  people.  He 
was  a  great  linguist,  and  had  he  lived  might 
have  rivalled  King  Edward  VII  in  his  gift  of  remembering 
faces  and  of  saying  the  right  thing  to  the  right  person.     And 


2  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

besides  this  he  was  brave  and  very  diplomatic.  He  under- 
stood his  subjects,  and  it  was  he  who  began  the  concilia- 
tion of  the  Catalans  which  his  son  has  so  ably  continued.  In 
Cataluna  it  has  never  been  forgotten  that  King  Alfonso  XII, 
in  speaking  to  some  influential  merchants,  said  :  "  My  wish 
is  to  make  all  Spain  a  Barcelona  !  " 

And  then  Queen  Cristina — the  mother  of  the  present  King  : 

What  a  splendid  woman  she  proved  herself  to  be  !     Placed 

in  one  of  the  most  difficult  positions  it  is 

o      ^M  th  r    possible  to  imagine,  she  passed  through  the 

days  of  her  Regency  in  a  manner  which  was 

more  than  admirable.     She  knew  how  to  hold  to  what  she  felt 

to  be  right,  but  she  acted  so  wisely  and  so  quietly  that  everyone 

was  disarmed.     And  just  how  difficult  was  her  position  none 

but  those  intimately  acquainted  with  the  history  of  Spain 

could  realise. 

King  Alfonso  XII's  brief  reign  may  be  said  to  have  resembled 
the  phoenix  rising  from  its  ashes — the  ashes  of  a  whole  century 
of  disaster,  of  misrule  and  of  retrogression.  And  he  only 
lived  long  enough  to  set  alight  the  flame  of  possible  redemption. 
It  was  left  to  Queen  Cristina  to  fan,  most  carefully  and 
assiduously,  this  flickering  torch.  And  so  it  happened  that 
when  the  beloved  "  boy  King  "  came  into  his  own  he  found 
something  like  a  new  Spain  springing  up  under  his  feet ;  a 
vast  country  which  was  keenly  appreciative  of  its  glorious 
past,  but  which  was  nevertheless  looking  with  eager,  question- 
ing eyes  into  the  future.  A  very  famous  monarch  once  said  : 
"  Je  lis  I'avenir  dans  le  passe,"  and  it  seems  certain  that  King 
Alfonso  XIII  is  making  plans  for  the  future  with  a  map  of 
the  past  ever  before  his  e3^es.  He  works  quietly  but  with 
admirable  method  and  forethought,  and  he  is  ably  assisted 
and  advised  by  Don  Antonio  Maura,  the  late  Prime  Minister, 
whom  Sefior  Canalejas  has  succeeded. 

Happily  for  Spain,  Sefior  Maura  is  a  consistent  optimist, 
for  the  country  has,  in  the  past,  suffered  at  the  hands  of 
pessimistic    politicians.      Even    Canovas    de     Castillo — one 


Court  and  State  -       3 

of  the  greatest  statesmen  Spain  has  ever  known — seemed 
towards  the  end  of  his  career  imbued  with  pessimistic  views. 
His  long  and   varied   experiences   had  suc- 
Minis^ers^f  the  (.gg(jg(j  ^j^  inspiring  in  him  a  feeling  of  distrust 
in  the  nation.     In  one  of  his  historical  works 
this  illustrious  man  expresses  the  beUef  that   Spain's  pre- 
eminent position  in  Europe,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  was  mainly 
due  to  chance.     That  her  greatness  was   due   to  a  happy 
combination  of  circumstances  rather  than  to  any  integral 
power  of  people  or  State. 

Silvela — a  man  of  great  intelligence  and  unbounded  kindness 
of  heart — was  in  his  day  considered  to  be  one  of  the  most 
optimistic  of  Spanish  poUticians.  In  reahty,  his  optimism 
consisted — chiefly — in  a  firm  conviction  that  the  Spanish 
people  were  superior  to  their  rulers  :  but  he  cherished  no 
great  hopes  of  either  one  or  the  other.  His  role  as  a  great 
public  leader  demanded  a  certain  show  of  optimism,  but  he 
had  no  real  behef  in  the  ultimate  success  of  his  work,  and  his 
retirement  was  a  final  evidence  of  his  own  pessimism  and 
disillusion. 

Praxedes  Mateo  Sagasta — the  late  Liberal  Prime  Minister, — 
who  was  naturally  one  of  the  most  cheerful  and  optimistic 
of  men,  was  completely  transformed  during  his  years  of  office. 
The  difficulties  which  surrounded  him  weighed  upon  him,  as 
he  himself  said,  "  like  lead,"  and  he  also  eventually  adopted  the 
prevailing  tone  of  discouragement. 

Don  Antonio  Maura  is  a  man  who  appears  destined  to 
succeed  where  his  predecessors  have  failed.  And  his  plan 
of  campaign  is  directly  opposed  to  their's  !  It  seems  more 
than  possible  that  the  partial  failure  of  Canovas  de  Castillo 
was  due  to  his  want  of  faith  in  the  people.  He  was  so  sure 
of  their  inability  to  stand  alone  that  he  never  dreamed  of 
allowing  them  to  try.  Maura,  on  the  other  hand,  seems 
determined  to  remove  the  crutches  and  to  allow  the  nation 
to  realise  its  own  possibilities.  His  laws  of  Electoral  Reform 
and  of  Local  Administration  clearly  prove  this.     The  people 


4  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

are  to  be  taught  to  govern  themselves,  to  a  large  extent. 
He  believes  in  them  and  is  prepared  to  put  his  belief  to  the 
test. 

The  result  of  some  of  the  reforms  brought  about  by  Seiior 
Maura  has  yet  to  be  seen.  The  Local  Government  Bill  which 
was  passed  under  him  made  a  great  sensation  throughout 
Spain.  It  provided  for  an  important  reform  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  cities  and  provinces  of  Spain,  and  through 
it  a  large  measure  of  autonomy  will  be  granted. 

That  bin  is  notable  in  Parliamentary  history  in  Spain, 

for  its  discussion  began  in  October,   1907,  and  it  entailed 

417  speeches  by  Senor  Maura  and  653  by 

The  Local       Seiior  Lombardero,   Chairman  of  the   Com- 

Bill.  mittee.     In  all  3,835  speeches  were  made  on 

this  question.     The  Opposition  was  very  keen 

in  its  antagonism  to  the  measure,  but  the  Catalans  expressed 

much  satisfaction,  as  that  great  change  could  not  fail  to  be 

highly  beneficial  to  them. 

In  considering  this  new  Local  Government  law  in  connection 
with  other  important  measures  of  the  present  administration, 
it  seems  certain  that  King  Alfonso  and  Senor  Maura  are 
opening  up  a  new  era  of  success  and  prosperity  for  Spain. 

Las  Cortes — the  Spanish  Parliament — consists  of  two 
Houses  :  The  Senate,  with  functions  about  equal  to  that  of 
the  English  House  of  Lords ;  and  the 
The  Parliament.  Congress,  which  corresponds,  more  or  less,  to 
the  House  of  Commons.  The  Senate  com- 
prises three  classes  of  Senadores  :  First,  Senadores  de  derecho 
propio,  viz..  Sons  of  the  King ;  Sons  of  the  immediate  successor 
to  the  Crown  ;  Grandees  of  Spain  in  certain  circumstances  ; 
Capitanes  General  ;  First  Admiral  of  the  Navy  ;  the  Arch- 
bishops ;  Presidents  of  the  Consejo  del  Estado  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  the  Tribunal  de  cuentas  del  Reino,  Supreme  Council  of 
War  and  Supreme  Council  of  the  Navy.  These  Presidents 
must  have  occupied  their  posts  for  two  years.  Second, 
Senadores     Vitalicios :    appointed    by    the    Crown.     Third, 


photo  by 


Franzen 


H.M.    OUEEN    VICTORIA 


Court  and  State  5 

Senadores  Electivis :  elected  by  the  various  Corporations  of 
Spain  and  of  the  Universities. 

The  qualifications  for  the  second  and  third  classes  of 
Senadores  are  as  follows  :  To  have  been  President  of  the 
Congress  ;  Deputies  who  have  belonged  to  three  different 
Parliaments  or  who  have  sat  in  Parliament  eight  sessions; 
^linisters  of  the  Crown  ;  Bishops ;  Grandees  of  Spain ; 
Lieutenant-Generals  of  the  Army  and  Vice-Admirals  of  the 
Navy — after  two  years'  service  ;  Ambassadors — after  two 
years'  serA^ce  ;  Ministers  Plenipotentiaries — after  four  years' 
ser\dce  ;  Consejeros  de  Estado :  Ministers  and  Fiscal  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  Consejo  de  Cuentas  del  Reino  ;  Consejeros 
de  Querra  and  Armada  ;  Doyen  of  the  Council  of  Mihtar)' 
Orders — after  two  j-ears'  service  ;  Presidents  or  Directors  of 
the  follo\\ing  Academies  :  Bellas  Artes  de  San  Fernando,  de 
las  Historia,  Exact  Science,  Physical  Science,  Natural  Science, 
Moral  and  Pohtical  Science  and  of  Medicine. 

Members   of   this    House    are    elected    by   suffrage.     The 

essential  qualification  is  that  they  must  be  Spanish  and  not 

less   than   twenty-three   j^ears   of   age.     The 

Chamber  of      Electors  are  all  Spaniards  of  at  least  twenty- 
Deputies.        ,  .         ^  .         ,    ,  ,         ^ 
five  years  ot  age,  of  good  character,  but  the 

question  of  income  does  not  enter  in.     The  Hmit  of  each 

Parhament  is  five  years,  but  there  can  be  a  dissolution  at  any 

time,  as  in  England. 

In  addition  to  the  National  Parliament  there  is  in  Spain 
a  Chamber  for  each  Pro\ance  called  Diputacion  Provincial. 
All  Spaniards  over  twenty-three  years  of  age,  residing  in  the 
Province,  are  ehgible  as  members.  The  duty  of  these  Dipufa- 
ciones  is  to  administer  the  general  aff'airs  of  the  Pro\'ince, 
such  as  roads,  communications,  hospitals,  schools,  prisons, 
asvlums  for  the  poor,  etc.,  etc.  Election  for  the  Diputacion 
Provincial  is  the  same  as  for  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  in  the 
National  Parliament. 

King  Alfonso  XIII  has  already  shoun  that  he  is  possessed 
of  many  fine  qualities.     And  foremost  amongst  these  is  that 

3— (2399) 


6  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

personal,  natural  bravery  which  has  so  often  been  displayed 
by  Spaniards.  I  shall  never  forget  an  example  of  this  un- 
conscious bravery  which  came  directly  under 

Alfonso  xni.  my  notice  a  few  years  ago,  on  the  occasion  of 
the  King's  first  State  visit  to  Paris.  Everyone 
will  remember  the  dastardly  attempt  that  was  made  on  his 
life  on  that  occasion  :  the  bomb  which  was  thrown  under  his 
carriage  wheels  as  he,  with  President  Loubet,  was  returning 
from  a  Gala  at  the  Opera.  The  bomb  was  thrown  at  the 
corner  of  the  rue  de  Rohan  and  the  rue  de  Rivoli,  and  I  was 
at  that  moment  standing  on  the  balcony  of  my  flat  in  the 
rue  de  I'Echelle,  close  by.  At  the  moment  of  the  explosion 
of  the  bomb — which  was  terrific — the  foremost  Cuirassiers  of 
the  Guard  of  Honour  had  dashed  up  the  rue  de  Rivoli,  and  it 
seemed  as  though  I  only  had  time  to  turn  in  horror  to  friends 
who  were  with  me  on  the  balcony  before  the  open  carriage 
containing  the  King  and  President  Loubet  swept  past  the  end 
of  the  rue  de  I'Echelle.  And  at  that  moment — but  a  second 
after  the  explosion  of  the  bomb — the  King  was  standing  up 
in  the  carriage,  his  arm  resting  affectionately  on  the  shoulder 
of  the  terrified  old  President,  and  a  smile  on  his  face. 

Of  fear  he  had  none.  His  only  thought  was  to  reassure 
the  French  people  that  he  and  the  President  were  safe.  And 
since  then,  in  many  ways,  he  has  displayed  a  calm  courage 
which  is  most  admirable.  Quite  recently  he  insisted — even 
against  the  advice  of  the  Prime  Minister — on  visiting  some 
of  the  mining  districts  in  Catalufia  whch  were  considered 
hot-beds  of  disaffection,  and  the  results  proved  most  clearly 
that  the  young  Monarch  was  justified  in  completely  trusting 
his  people.  The  King  is  very  thorough  in  everything  he 
does ;  he  is  never  satisfied  until  he  has  grasped  each  detail 
of  such  matters  as  come  under  his  notice.  And  even  in 
ordinary  affairs,  wholly  unconnected  with  State,  this  desire 
to  become  master  of  a  subject  makes  itself  felt.  A  short 
time  ago,  for  example.  King  Alfonso  visited  Pau  for  the 
express  purpose  of  studying  Mr.  Wright's  aeroplane ;    and, 


Court  and  State  7 

in  making  his  observations,  he  asked  the  most  minute  and 
searching  questions  and  was  not  satisfied  until  he  felt  that 
he  himself  could,  if  required,  steer  and  manage  the  wonderful 
machine. 

The  excellent  manner  in  which  he  was  educated  shows  itself 
at  every  turn  and  added  to  this  he  displays  natural  intelligence 
and  shrewdness  of  a  very  exceptional  order. 

What  has  been  described  as  "  The  Victorian  Era"  promises 

to  be  a  golden  era  in  Spain  !     The  beautiful  young  Queen  has 

captivated  all  hearts — as  much  by  her  charm 

Queen  Victoria,  of  manner  and  goodness  of  heart  as  by  her 

pretty  face  and  wonderful  golden  hair.  Blonde 

beauty — of  the  pure  English  type — ^makes  a  strong  appeal  to 

the  critical  Spaniard.     It  is  something  to  which  he  is  not 

quite  accustomed,  and  for  that  reason,  if  for  no  other,  it 

attracts  his  attention  and  compels  his  admiration. 

Of  the  affection  felt  by  the  people  of  Spain  for  their  young 
Queen  there  can  be  no  doubt.  And  intermingled  with  this 
affection  there  is  a  strong  feeling  of  pride  in  being  the  owners 
of  the  most  lovely  Queen — Queen  Alexandra  always  excepted 
— in  Europe.  Queen  Victoria  Eugenie  of  Spain  has  genius 
in  matters  which  concern  dress.  She  always  wears  just  the 
thing  most  suitable  to  her  particular  style  :  the  becoming 
picture  hats,  with  their  long  ostrich  feathers,  and  the 
picturesque  gowns  of  softest  blue  or  white  or  pale  rose. 

In  the  summer,  when  she  is  at  San  Sebastian  and  always 

under  the  public  gaze,  she  looks  like  the  model  of  one  of 

Gainsborough's  pictures.     The  muslins  and  laces  of  her  dainty 

gowns  are  drawn  together  by  ribbons  of  palest  blue  :    at  her 

breast  there  is  a  cluster  of  pink  roses,  and  her  hat — nine  times 

in  ten — is  of  the  Gainsborough  shape,  with  soft  feathers  falling 

over  the  wide  brim  !     In  thinking  of  our  Queen  Victoria  of 

to-day  some  lines  of  Wordsworth  suggest  themselves — 

A  perfect  woman,  nobly  planned. 
To  warn,  to  comfort,  and  command. 

The  heir  to  the  Throne,  the  Prince  of  the  Asturias,  ought 


8  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

to  be  introduced  with  military  honours,  for  he  is  already  in 
command  of  an  important  regiment !    On  the  first  anniversary 

of  the  Prince's  birthday  the  picturesque  and 
TT  •    J    oj.  „t    unique    little  ceremony  of  his  entrance  into 

the  army  took  place.  It  has  been  customary, 
for  many  years,  for  the  Sovereigns  of  Spain  to  show  their 
respect  for  the  Army,  and  at  the  same  tiine  to  set  a  good 
example  to  their  people,  by  formally  enlisting  the  heir  to  the 
Throne  in  some  well-known  regiment. 

The  present  King  almost  invariably  wore  his  military 
uniform  during  his  minority,  and  King  Alfonso  XII  was  also 
a  cadet  in  the  Regimiento  Inmemorial  del  Rey.  It  is  this 
regiment  that  the  little  Prince  has  joined.  On  the  first 
anniversary  of  his  birthday  the  ceremony  of  enlistment  took 
place  :  he  was  dressed  in  a  diminutive  uniform  and  a  veteran 
soldier  was  told  off  to  instruct  the  new  recruit  !  Henceforward 
a  bed  will  be  reserved  for  him  in  the  barracks,  and  the  regu- 
lation plate,  cup,  and  spoon  of  his  equipment,  in  silver,  has 
been  presented  by  the  officers  of  his  regiment. 
f  The  formal  regimental  register  of  this  event  is  most  amusing. 
In  it  the  Prince  is  described  as  being  "  resident  in  the  province 
of  Madrid,  aged  one  year,  and  a  bachelor. "\  It  is  further 
set  forth  that  according  to  rule  the  Penal  Laws  have  been 
read  to  him,  in  order  that  henceforward  he  will  not  be  able 
to  justify  any  infraction  of  discipline  by  his  alleged  ignorance 
of  these  said  laws  !  This  paper  was  duly  signed  by  the 
usual  witnesses,  and  was  further  embellished  by  a  "  X  " 
signed  by  the  new  recruit. 

The  Royal  Palace  of  Madrid  is  a  magnificent  building,  and 
its  situation  lends  it  a  specially  commanding  aspect,  for  it  is 

on  a  height.     This  Palace  stands  on  the  site 
^^Madrid*^^'      °^  ^"  ancient  Moorish  Alcazar,  and  it  was 

erected  in  1738  by  Giovanni  Battista 
Sacchetti,  who  is  also  responsible  for  the  Palace  of  San  Ilde- 
fonso  at  La  Gran j  a.  Both  these  Palaces  are  fine  specimens 
of  tlie  Baroque  Style. 


Photo  by  Franzen 

THE    KING   WITH   THE    PRINXE    OF   ASTURIAS 


Court  and  State  9 

The  interior  of  the  Royal  Palace  at  Madrid  is  splendid,  and 
the  decorations  of  the  Hall  of  Ambassadors  really  superb. 
The  collection  of  tapestries  in  the  Palace  is  unique,  but  the 
famous  Goya  tapestries  are,  chiefly,  to  be  found  at  the  Escorial. 

The  Royal  Armoury  of  Madrid  is  said  to  possess  the  most 
complete  collection  of  arms  and  armour  in  the  world,  and 
the  Museo  del  Prado  is  unsurpassed.  In  this  great  building 
sixty-four  master-pieces  by  Velasquez  are  to  be  found ; 
forty-six  Murillos,  twenty-two  Van  Dycks,  forty-three  Titians, 
and  innumerable  examples  of  the  genius  of  such  painters  as 
Raphael,  Tintoretto,  Veronese,  Goya,  Ribera,  etc.,  etc.  To 
gain  any  real  idea  of  the  Prado  it  is  necessary  to  visit  the 
museum  again  and  again. 

Of  Madrid  itself  many  different  accounts  have  been  given. 

Personally,  I  think  it  an  ideal  Capital  for  Spain,  for  it  is 

essentially,    and   before   all,    a   City   of   the 

The  Capital.  Unexpected.  Spain  has  been  described  as 
the  land  of  "  fire  and  ice,"  and  most  certainly 
its  capital  city  lives  up  to  this  description.  It  is  by  turns  the 
hottest  and  the  coldest  and  the  wettest  and  the  most  windy 
city  in  all  Europe  !  And  yet  it  is  very  fascinating — this  city 
perched  up  on  a  height  2,130  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
It  is  open  to  the  embraces  of  all  the  gods  of  the  winds,  and 
towering  above  it  are  the  great  mountains,  ever  snow-capped, 
of  the  Sierra  de  Guadarrama.  When  viewed  from  the  outside 
Madrid  seems  like  an  enchanted  City  of  the  East  standing 
alone  amidst  bare  and  bleak  plains,  with  its  towers  and 
monuments  thrusting  themselves  upwards  towards  the  skies. 

I  remember  disliking  Madrid  very  much,  on  a  first  acquain- 
tance. And  also  I  remember  walking  to  the  cemetery  of  San 
Isidro  on  a  certain  All  Saints'  Day  and  looking  back  on  the 
city  from  the  rough  country  road  which  is  called  the  Camino 
de  San  Isidro.  And  there,  in  the  light  of  a  golden  sun, 
already  setting,  the  fascinations  of  the  City  of  the  Unexpected 
stretched  out  their  arms  and  softly  drew  me  in.  In  that 
moment  I  recognised  how  uniquely  attractive  a  city  may  be 


10  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

when  it  knows  nothing  of  suburbs  !  For  of  suburbs,  in  Madrid, 
there  are  none.  You  can  ride,  drive,  or  even  walk,  right  out 
of  the  city  into  country  which  is  fiat  and  bleak  as  the  steppes 
of  Russia. 

The  variable  climate  of  Madrid  is  proverbial.     Added  to  the 

extreme  heat  of  summer  and  the  cold  of  winter,  there  is  always 

a  chilly  wind  blowing  from  the  Sierras.     A 

Madrid  °        Spanish  proverb  says  that  this  wind  is  so 

subtle  that  it  will  kill  a  man,  but  will  not 

blow  out  a  candle  !    The  unfortunate  result  of  this  combination 

of  heat  and  chilly  winds  is  that  tuberculosis  and  other  lung 

diseases  are  very  prevalent  in  Madrid. 

The  population  last  year  was  573,676.  There  were  16,457 
births  and  13,370  deaths.  Of  the  latter,  107  out  of  every 
thousand  were  due  to  tuberculosis,  seventy-nine  in  the 
thousand  to  pneumonia,  and  fifty-five  in  the  thousand  to 
bronchitis. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  tuberculosis  is  specially  prevalent 
among  the  men  of  Madrid,  who  always  go  about  in  winter 
muffled  up  to  the  eyes  in  a  great  "  capa,"  and  who  have  a 
horror  of  the  slightest  draught ;  while  it  is  comparatively  rare 
among  the  women  of  the  lower  classes,  who  scarcely  wrap  up 
at  all,  and  who  wear  nothing  on  their  heads  except  a  little 
handkerchief  or  a  lace  velo. 

The  alarming  prevalence  of  lung  diseases  has  caused  the 
institution  of  a  Permanent  Commission  against  tuberculosis, 
which  studies  the  best  means  of  combating  the  evil.  At  the 
last  Session  a  resolution  was  passed  that  not  only  were  the 
hospitals  and  sanatoriums  to  be  rigorously  maintained  but 
steps  were  to  be  taken  to  check  the  disease  in  its  early 
stages.  First,  by  making  extensive  improvements  in  the 
dwelling-houses  of  the  lower  classes,  which  are  often  badly 
built  and  in  need  of  hygienic  reform  ;  and,  secondly,  by 
seriously  representing  the  necessity  of  checking  incipient 
coughs  and  colds,  which  in  such  a  climate  are  liable,  if 
neglected,  to  lead  to  the  initial  symptoms  of  lung  diseases. 


^ 


Court  and  State  11 

The  idea  of  ski-ing  and  toboganning  in  the  vicinity  of  Madrid 
may  seem  extraordinary  to  those  who  are  unacquainted  with 

"  Spain,  the  Unexpected."    It  is,  nevertheless, 
Ski-ing.         a  fact  that  there  exists  in  Madrid  a  "  Spanish 

Alpine  Club "  which  organises  the  most 
delightiul  expeditions  to  the  Sierra  Guadarrama  for  the 
purpose  of  enjoying  the  winter  sports  generally  assumed  to 
belong  exclusively  to  Switzerland  and  the  northern  countries. 
These  immense  mountains  which  form  such  a  superb  back- 
groimd  for  Madrid  are  thickly  covered  with  snow  in  winter : 
there  are  great  forests  of  pine-trees,  deep  ravines,  and  long, 
gentle  slopes  which  would  delight  any  ski-ing  enthusiast. 
The  Club  Alpino  Espanol  has  built  three  charming  chalets  at 
Navacerrada  and  after  the  toboganning,  luging  and  ski-ing, 
a  retreat  is  made  to  the  nearest  chalet,  where  lunch  is  served. 
The  nearest  station  to  Madrid  is  Cercedilla,  and  from  there 
the  iscent  to  the  club-house  is  made  on  foot  or  in  sleighs. 
Many  of  the  younger  members  of  the  most  aristocratic  families 
of  Madrid  belong  to  this  club,  and  perhaps  no  costume  is 
mere  eminently  becoming  to  a  pretty  madrilena  than  the 
short  skirt,  knitted  jersey,  and  cap  of  the  tobogannist. 

for  two  or  three  months  of  each  year  the  Spanish  Court 
is  to  be  found  at  San  Sebastian  :    one  of  the  loveliest  spots 

in  all  Spain.     San  Sebastian,  like  Santander, 
Jan  Sebastian,    is  situated  in  the  northern  coast,  washed  by 

the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  its  natural  surround- 
ings make  it  ideally  beautiful.  The  famous  "  concha  "  bay, 
which  is  very  large,  and  shaped  like  a  great  oyster-shell,  is 
guarded  by  two  picturesque  mountains,  one  on  either  side. 

Monte  Urgtill,  which  guards  the  town  side,  is  specially 
interesting  to  English  visitors  because  far  up  on  its  heights 
may  be  found  a  Httle  "  Garden  of  Sleep  "  in  which  lie  buried 
the  British  officers  who  fell  in  1813  when  helping  the  Spaniards 
in  their  "  War  of  Liberation  "  against  the  French  :  and  also 
the  British  soldiers  who  fell  in  1836  when  aiding  the  Cristinos 
to  make  a  stand  against  the  Carlist  forces. 


12  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

On  the  other  side  of  the  bay  Monte  Igueldo  seems  placed 
as  a  guard  to  the  Palacio  de  Miramar,  where  the  King  has. 
since  his  earhest  childhood,  spent  so  many  happy  days.  The 
Palace  is  beautifully  situated,  on  a  crest  above  the  bay,  but 
it  is  far  more  homelike  than  any  other  of  the  Royal  houses. 
In  fact  it  very  fitly  represents  the  delightful  home  life  enjoyed 
by  the  Spanish  Royalties  when  holiday-making  at  San 
Sebastian. 

The  Spaniards  themselves  have  often  assured  me  that 
September  is  essentially  the  month  for  San  Sebastian,  and  I 
quite  appreciate  their  point  of  view ;  at  the  same  time,  [  think 
foreign  visitors,  who  are  anxious  to  study  the  people  of  a 
strange  country,  will  find  the  months  of  July  and  Au^st — 
especially  the  latter — the  most  satisfactory. 

In  September  San  Sebastian  is  peopled  almost  entirely  by 
those  who  are  in  some  way  connected  with  the  Court.  In 
this  month  the  balls  at  the  Casino  are  especially  brilliant, 
and  exquisitely  dressed  women  are  to  be  seen  on  every  side, 
at  every  hour  of  the  day,  but  of  the  people — the  backbone 
of  the  nation — very  little  is  to  be  seen. 

In  the  months  of  July  and  August  everyone  takes  a  holiday, 
and  all  those  who  can  afford  it  spend  this  holiday,  or  part 
of  it,  at  the  "  Royal  Plage."  And  thus  a  foreigner  gets  in 
exceptional  opportunity  of  seeing  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
Spaniards  gathered  together  in  the  best  of  circumstances. 

The  King  and  Queen  always  spend  August  and  September 
at  the  Miramar  Palace,  and  of  course  their  presence  necessitates 
the  presence  of  the  various  circles  connected  with  the  court, 
and  in  this  way  almost  every  side  of  Spanish  life  can  be 
quickly  studied. 

I  do  not  know  of  any  more  brilliant  or  interesting  scene  than 
that  in  the  Alameda  at  San  Sebastian  on  a  Sunday  morning 
after  church.  The  splendid  boulevard  is  so  crowded  that  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  walk,  and  so  varied  are  the  types  and 
costumes  that  one  might  easily  imagine  oneself  back  again 
in  the  days  of  Goya,  and  of  the  Spain  described  by  Gautier. 


Court  and  State  13 

It  is  certain  that  in  no  other  town,  and  in  no  other  circum- 
stances, can  a  foreigner  obtain  such  an  excellent  idea 
of  the  possibilities  of  Spain,  from  a  picturesque  point  of 
view. 

And  then,  later  in  the  same  day,  those  who  dislike  the  idea 
of  going  to  a  bull-fight  can  enjoy  all  its  brilliant  surroundings 
without  any  of  its  disagreeables,  by  simply  strolling — with 
the  crowd — towards  the  Plaza  de  Toros.  They  will  see  the 
brdl-fighters  in  full  costume  driving  by  in  their  carriages, 
and  the  picadors,  also  in  costume,  will  ride  up  right  through 
the  crowd.  Everyone  will  be  in  the  best  of  good  humours, 
and  one  is  repaid  for  a  climb  up  hill  by  the  glorious  view 
from  the  terrace  of  the  Plaza,  which  is  perched  on  a  height 
overlooking  the  bay. 

At  San  Sebastian  the  King  and  Queen  may  constantly  be 

seen,  walking  or  driving  ;    and  it  very  often  happens  that 

the  King  takes  the  helm  in  one  of  his  own 

Yachteman^  yachts  when  the  races  are  on.  He  is  specially 
fond  of  yacht  racing,  and  is  doing  a  great  deal 
to  encourage  this  sport  all  along  the  coast  of  Spain.  At 
present  he  possesses  a  little  fleet  of  six  yachts  :  two  of  ten 
metres,  three  "  sonderclasse,"  and  one  of  six  metres.  Besides 
these,  he  has  a  very  good  racing  cutter  of  fifteen  metres  designed 
for  him  by  Mr.  William  Fife,  which  was  finished  for  the 
Cowes  Week  in  1909.  The  King  was  particularly  anxious 
that  his  yacht  should  be  built  entirely  of  native  materials 
and  by  Spanish  workmen,  and  he  made  arrangements  that 
Mr.  Fife  should  personally  visit  San  Sebastian  to  give  the 
instructions  necessary. 

The  Regattas  at  this  most  delightful  of  all  sea-side  places 
are  very  important,  and  yacht  owners  from  various  parts  of 
Europe,  and  America,  take  part  in  them.  Besides  the  yacht 
races  there  are  races  for  Canots  Automobile  and  other  boats, 
and,  in  the  month  of  September,  a  Concours  Hippique  at  which 
very  valuable  prizes  are  given. 

I  take  pleasure  in  recommending  San  Sebastian  to  those 


14  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

who  wish  to  see  something  of  Spain  and  the  Spaniards,  without 
making  a  prolonged  tour  in  the  country,  because  it  is  very 
easily  reached — a  little  more  than  two  hours  from  Biarritz — 
and  because  it  contains,  in  a  comparatively  confined  space, 
many  elements  which  are  purely  Spanish. 

The  town  itself  is  modern  and  essentiaDy  gay,  but  a  short 
excursion  in  a  light  tramway  brings  one  to  a  quaint  old  town 
right  up  in  the  hills,  called  Hernani.  And  in  this  curious  old 
place  there  are  sombre  palaces,  narrow  streets  and  a  beautiful 
old  church  which  contains  some  wonderful  wood  carving. 
Or,  on  the  other  side,  a  larger  and  more  important  mediaeval 
town,  which  lies  half  way  between  Biarritz  and  San  Sebastian, 
may  be  visited.  Fuenterrabia  possesses  a  fine  Gothic  church, 
with  a  Renaissance  portal  and  a  seventeeth-century  belfry. 
It  is  an  old  town  full  of  picturesque  objects,  and  it  has  been 
immortalised  in  the  poems  of  Milton  and  of  Scott. 

For  people  who  like  a  fashionable  life  one  of  the  chief 
attractions  of  San  Sebastian  is  its  splendid  Casino.  In  the 
chapter  on  Music  and  Musicians  I  shall  speak  of  Seiior  Arbos, 
the  Chef  d'Orchestre  of  this  Casino.  He  is  a  true  artist  and  a 
skilled  musician,  who  is  as  well  known  in  London  as  in  Spain. 
During  the  winter  season  his  place  is  taken  by  the  Maestro 
Larrocha,  who  is  also  a  most  accomplished  musician,  and  the 
classic  concerts  at  the  Casino  are  a  real  treat  to  lovers  of 
good  music. 

Of  all  the  problems  presented  by  modern  Spain  none  is 

more  critical  and  difficult  to  solve  than  the  problem  of  national 

education.     In    the    opinion    of    intelligent 

Educaf  on       Spaniards  this  question  is  one  in  comparison 

with  which  all  other  considerations  are  of 

minor  importance.     Spain  is  at  present  undergoing  a  sort  of 

internal  crisis  ;  she  is  emerging  from  a  century  of  misfortune, 

of  ineffective  government,  and  of  national  calamity.     The 

present  period  is  one  of  transition,  and  to  the  Spaniards  of 

the  twentieth  century  will  fall  the  task  of  completing  the 

regeneration  which  has  been  begun. 


Court  and  State  15 

The  welfare  of  Spain  in  the  future  depends,  naturally,  upon 
the  education  of  the  younger  generation,  and  Spaniards  are 
beginning  to  ask  themselves  very  seriously  whether  the 
education  problem  is  being  dealt  with  in  a  competent  manner. 
Education  has  been  compulsory  in  Spain  for  some  time  and 
the  Alcaldes  are  authorised  to  punish  with  fines,  or  even  with 
imprisonment,  any  parents  who  refuse  to  send  their  children 
to  school. 

And  there  are  plenty  of  schools  !  According  to  statistics 
there  are  in  Spain  about  26,000  schools.  But — and  this  but 
is  the  keynote  of  the  difficulty — there  are  only  23,000  masters  : 
the  fact  being  that  3,000  of  the  schools  had  to  be  closed 
because  there  were  no  masters  to  teach  in  them.  Besides, 
out  of  the  twenty  million  inhabitants  of  Spain,  only  one 
million  attends  school:  that  is  to  say,  five  per  cent,  of  the 
population.  This  is  an  excessively  low  percentage  in  com- 
parison with  England,  where  eighteen  per  cent,  of  the  popula- 
tion are  scholars.  Or  with  America  which  can  boast  of 
twenty  per  cent ! 

Of  course,  the  first  and  most  obvious  reform  should  be  to 
augment  the  number  of  professors,  for  it  is  indeed  a  case  of 
"  Wliat  are  these  amongst  so  many  ?  "  In  this  connection 
an  unhappy  schoolmaster  in  the  provinces,  an  extremely 
intelligent  and  hardworking  man,  recently  said  :  "  What  can 
I  be  expected  to  do  in  my  school,  with  eighty  scholars  of  all 
ages,  from  seven  to  fourteen  years  ?  "  Naturally,  in  institu- 
tions so  seriously  under-manned,  it  is  not  possible  to  give 
adequate  moral  or  intellectual  instruction. 

Another  grievance  is  the  tendency  to  suppress  private 
colleges  and  schools  directed  by  the  religious  congregations  ; 
this  has  long  been  the  aim  of  certain  political  parties,  and  it 
has  aroused  the  most  decided  opposition  from  the  Spaniards, 
who  naturally  say :  "  Where  are  our  children  to  go  for 
instruction  ?  " 

I  have  already  said  that  parents  and  guardians  are  liable 
to  punishment  for  neglecting  to  send  their  children  to  school ; 


16  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

it,  however,  not  infrequently  happens  that  the  authorities 
are  handicapped  in  the  exercise  of  their  duties  by  the  fact 
that  the  schools  do  not  conform  to  what  is  required  of  them 
by  the  law  :  that  is  to  say,  installation  and  method  of 
instruction  is  often  defective.  They  are  not  invariably 
hygienic,  and  well  ventilated.  They  have  not  an  adequate 
staff  of  masters,  and  in  these  conditions  parents  cannot  be 
compelled  to  conform  to  their  obligations. 

The  difficulties  of  educating  the  children  of  the  working 

classes  are  very  great  because,  although  there  is  not  in  Spain 

a  very  large  percentage  of  the  actually  desti- 

^Education*°    ^^^^'  ^^^^^  ^^^  ^^  immense  number  of  poor 

families  who  have   barely  enough   to   exist 

upon  ;    and  it  will  be  readily  understood  that  it  would  be 

asking  a  great  deal  to  expect  such  parents  to  send  a  child 

who  might  otherwise  earn  a  few  pence  a  day. 

Besides  this,  there  are,  especially  in  the  south,  many  poor 
families  who  go  together  into  the  country  at  certain  seasons 
to  work  in  vineyards,  olive-yards,  etc.,  and  who  evidently 
could  not  leave  their  children  behind  at  school.  To  meet  such 
cases  as  these  the  only  thing  possible  would  be  to  give  the 
children,  during  the  months  they  spent  at  school,  such  solid 
instruction  in  essential  subjects  as  would  enable  them  to  earn 
their  living  and  become  useful  citizens  in  the  future. 

There  has  always  been  a  real  love  for  learning  in  Spain  :  in 
Andalusia,  which,  by  reason  of  its  climate,  is  the  most  indolent 
of  all  the  provinces,  the  schools  are  crowded :  both  the 
children's  and  adults'  classes  are  regularly  attended, 
the  one  imperious  necessity  being  the  augmentation  of 
masters. 

In  connection  with  these  education  problems  Ramiro  de 
Maeztu — who  is  an  acknowledged  authority — has  said  :  "To 
improve  the  education  of  our  country  an  additional  live 
millions — as  suggested — would  be  useless.  We  want  almost 
one  hundred  millions  (pesetas).  What  we  must  try  to  do  is 
to  accustom  our  contributive  classes  to  the  idea  of  making 


Court  and  State  17 

great  sacrifices  for  the  sake  of  public  instruction  :  but  at  the 
same  time  we  have  to  reaUse  the  necessity  of  giving  them 
a  guarantee  that  their  money  will  not  be  misspent." 

One  of  the  latest  developments  of  educational  reform  has 

been  the  institution  of  a  School  of  Police  at  Madrid.     This 

excellent  work  has  been  carried  out  under  the 

A  School  for     auspices  of  Senor  La  Cierva,  the  Minister  for 

Home  Affairs.     The  policemen  of  Spain  have 

always  been  noted  for  their  intelligence  :    the  Guardia  Civil, 

in   particular,    could   not    be   excelled   as   a   law-preserving 

organization. 

The  first  qualification  demanded  by  the  School  of  Police 
is  that  candidates  should  be  thoroughly  respectable  :  given 
this  essential  quality,  the  institution  undertakes  to  supply 
all  that  is  wanting  to  make  an  ideal  guardian  of  the 
peace. 

The  instruction  is  of  a  most  practical  nature.  There  is  an 
efficient  corps  of  professors,  among  whom  are  Seiior  Millan 
Astray — the  organizer  and  director  of  the  School ;  Sefior 
Oloriz — the  distinguished  anthropologist,  who  will  lecture 
on  "  photography  applied  to  anthropology,"  and  on  anthropo- 
metry, or  the  measurement  of  the  human  body  ;  Seiior  Priego 
— ^who  will  give  instruction  in  Legislation  ;  Seiior  Salvat — 
Professor  of  Foreign  Languages,  and  Sefior  Ceballos,  Professor 
of  Gjrmnastics  and  Fencing. 

After  a  course  of  study  of  the  various  subjects  the  pupils 
undergo  an  examination  ;  if  they  do  not  pass  the  first  time 
they  may  make  a  second  attempt,  but  in  cases  of  obvious 
inefficiency  they  are  disqualified.  There  are  at  present  fifty 
pupils  at  the  school,  and  fifty  others  have  applied  for  admit- 
tance ;  all  policemen  at  present  engaged  will  be  invited  to 
attend  the  lectures. 

The  installation  of  the  new  institution  is  most  admirable  : 
there  is  a  beautiful  library  ;  a  fencing  hall  and  a  gymnasium  ; 
an  anthropometrical  cabinet,  besides  the  fine  lecture 
haU. 


18  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

With  regard  to  the  logical  and  effective  treatment  of  the 

criminal  class,  Spain  is  showing  herself  well  in  advance  of  the 

times.     The  Spanish  Press  has  had  a  great 

Prison  Valencia  ^^^^  ^°  ^^^  about  a  new  prison  which  is  being 
run  on  entirely  individual  lines — at  Valencia. 
The  Spaniards  are  rather  inclined  to  regard  with  suspicion 
anything  quite  new;  nevertheless,  should  this  institution 
prove  a  success — of  which  there  seems  every  probability — 
it  will  cause  many  important  changes  to  be  made  in  the 
prison  system  in  Spain. 

Ganivet  has  said  that  there  is  a  certain  spark  of  inspiration 
in  every  Spaniard  who  allows  himself  to  be  individual  and 
who  thinks  simply  and  naturally.  This  "  inspiration  "  was 
evidently  at  work  when  the  authorities  of  Valencia  planned 
their  Model  Prison.  They  seem,  in  the  first  place,  to  have 
realised  exactly  what  a  prison  is  for,  and  how  invaluable  is 
the  opportunity  offered  for  improving  the  lives  of  those  who 
are  entrusted  to  the  State  to  have  their  faults  corrected. 

On  no  point  have  sociologists  differed  more  than  upon  the 
prison  system.  It  is  evident  that  there  would  be  no  good  end 
gained  by  making  prisons  little  paradises  upon  earth,  where 
evil-doers  might  retire  to  enjoy  themselves.  But  neither  is 
there  any  use  in  detaining  the  prisoner  for  a  certain  time  and 
then  sending  him  out  to  continue  a  career  of  violence,  without 
having  derived  any  benefit  from  his  imprisonment. 

The  aim  of  this  Model  Prison  is  thoroughly  to  educate  those 
who  are  in  sore  need  of  instruction :  to  give  them  a  new  interest 
in  life  and  to  ensure  their  being  able  to  support  themselves 
honestly  on  their  release.  All  sorts  of  trades  are  taught  in 
airy  and  comfortable  workrooms  :  such  as  grass-weaving, 
cabinet-making,  etc.  ;  and  the  whole  atmosphere  is  not  one 
of  depression  and  unhappiness  but  rather  of  cheerful  energy. 

One  feels  that  the  prisoners  are  being  encouraged  to  cultivate 
the  better  side  of  their  nature  instead  of  being  sternly  repressed 
by  unnecessary  discipline. 

These  are,  roughly  speaking,  the  ideals  of  the  Model  Prison. 


Court  and  State  19 

Its  excellence  has  just  been  publicly  attested  by  a  recent 

inmate — Sefior  Torrubia  y  Rojas,  who  was  imprisoned  for 

publishing  in  his  paper  a  poem  of  pronounced  anarchical 

views :     a  sort   of   apologia   for   the   regicide.     In   a  letter 

published  in  El  Pais,  Seiior  Rojas  declares  that  this  Model 

Prison  in  Valencia  is  the  only  one  in  Spain  which  works  on 

the  right  lines,  and  he  urges  that  its  system  should  be  adopted 

by  all  the  others. 

In  connection  with  the  really  valuable  work  which  Spain 

is  to-day   doing   in   the  field  of  Criminal   Anthropology,  I 

quote  at  length  from  a  most  interesting  article 

^^i^^tcr^     —from   the    pen    of    Seiior   A.    A^iilera    y 
Anthropology.  {^  u^^  -u   a  ■     4.u 

Arjona — which  was  recently  published  m  the 

Nuevo  Mundo — 

The  School  of  Criminology  in  Madrid  is  installed  in  the  same  building 
as  the  prison.  It  is  on  the  ground  floor  and  consists  of  two  lecture 
rooms,  a  library,  a  museum,  a  room  for  the  professors,  and  a  few 
smaller  rooms.  With  this  modest  installation  and  the  generous 
collaboration  of  a  nucleus  of  savants,  the  immensely  important  work 
of  penitentiary  reform  is  being  begun. 

The  first  impression  received  by  the  visitor  is  one  of  austerity.  The 
pupils  go  there  to  work  and  nothing  distracts  their  attention  from  the 
definite  aims  of  the  school.  The  library  is  there  in  order  that  students 
may  make  use  of  their  intelligence  by  consulting  the  works  of  the 
greatest  scientists.  The  eminently  practical  and  experimental  char- 
acter of  the  instruction  is  attested  by  the  collections  in  the  museum. 
Skulls  of  abnormal  "  subjects  "  ;  photographs  of  famous  criminals — 
duly  classified  ;  histories  of  famous  crimes ;  implements  habitually 
used  by  criminals,  etc.  When  the  students  possess  the  indispensable 
preparation,  they  commence  their  studies  in  the  laboratory,  experiments 
in  anima  vili  with  the  prisoners,  and,  perhaps,  excursions  to  other 
penitentiary  establishments.  The  school  responds  on  all  points  to  the 
modem  conception  of  Penal  Law,  according  to  which  the  criminal  is 
always  an  anomaly,  for  whom  restoration  to  a  normal  and  healthy 
state  of  mind  is  more  necessary  than  punishment. 

The  prison  ought  to  be,  in  fact,  a  hospital,  where  persons  who  have 
sinned  through  weakness  of  will  or  from  want  of  education  are  to  be 
cured.  The  Governor  of  the  prison  ought  to  be  a  doctor  and  a  school- 
master, for  he  has  to  reform  characters  and  morals.  The  vagabond 
must  be  made  accustomed  to  work  ;  the  vicious  person  must  be  cured 
of  his  evil  passions  ;  the  ignorant  must  be  educated.  Accepting  as  a 
fact  that  ignorance,  misery  and  evil  companionship  are,  for  the  greater 
part,  the  generators  of  crime,  the  prison  has  to  be  at  once  a  school 
and  a  moral  society  in  order  to  counteract  these  influences. 


20  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

For  cases  of  physical  degeneration  and  lack  of  mental  balance  the 
prison  has  to  be  at  once  a  penitentiary  and  a  lunatic,  asylum  where 
the  doctor  has  to  set  in  action  the  forces  of  regeneration.  Each 
criminal  is  an  individual  case,  without  subjective  analogy  with  any 
other,  and  in  each  case  it  is  necessarj^  to  individualise  in  order  to  apply 
perfectly  suitable  treatment.  How,  in  common  justice,  could  the  same 
penitentiary  treatment  be  applied  to  one  who  had  robbed  because  he 
was  unable  to  find  work  and  to  another  who  had  committed  the  same 
offence  from  motives  of  self-indulgence  or  vanity  ? 

The  pupils  of  the  School  of  Criminology,  having  terminated  their 
course  of  studies,  will  be  sent  out  to  direct  prisons  and  penal  establish- 
ments. They  will  be  admirably  qualified  to  judge  of  tlie  treatment 
demanded,  for  instance,  by  the  two  cases  above  cited.  The  history 
of  each  will  be  studied  from  its  remote  antecedents,  and  having 
determined  the  exact  physiological  and  psychological  conditions  of 
the  prisoners,  steps  will  be  taken  to  ensure  that  the  first  shall  find 
suitable  employment  on  his  release  and  that  the  second  shall  be 
accustomed  to  habits  of  temperance  and  moderation,  in  keeping  with 
his  position  in  life. 

For  the  empiricism  of  the  present  prison  system,  based  solely  on  the 
deprivation  of  liberty  and  almost  entirely  at  variance  with  the  moral 
aims  of  the  penalties  imposed,  there  will  be  substituted  a  scientific 
regimen  in  which  justice  will  attain  a  far  higher  end  than  the  mere 
assertion  of  legal  authority.  It  will  correct  the  delinquent  and  send 
him  back  to  the  world  a  sane  and  useful  member  of  society. 

If,  as  is  expected,  the  Madrid  School  of  Criminology  realises  its 
ambitions,  the  probable  result  will  be  the  entire  reformation  of  Spanish 
prisons  and  the  establishment  of  a  new  Penal  Legislation  to  replace  the 
antiquated  system  now  in  vogue. 

These  are  the  ideals  of  the  little  group  of  savants,  which  includes 
Sres  Salillas,  Oloriz,  Cossio,  Anton,  Simarro  and  Aramburo  :  a  veritable 
apostolate  of  science,  working  solely  for  the  national  regeneration. 

I  have  given  this  valuable  article  almost  in  full  because  it 
clearly  sets  forth  what  is  being  done  in  a  most  important 
matter.  I  take  this  opportunity  of  offering  my  sincere  thanks 
to  Sefior  A.  Aguilera  y  Arjona  and  also  the  able  Director  of 
the  Nuevo  Mundo. 

In  the  person  of  Don  Rafael  Salillas,  Spain  possesses  an 

anthropologist  of  the  first  order :  one  who,  in  many  respects, 

walks  in  line  with  Cesare  Lombroso.     In  the 

Rafael  Salillas.   profound   study   of   Criminal   Anthropology, 

Italy  is  very  prominent  at  the  present  day, 

with  such  men  as  Lombroso,  Mantegazza,  Ferri,  etc.,  taking 

the  lead,  but  this  fascinating  science  has  also  taken  deep  root 


Court  and  State  21 

in  Spain  and  in  the  near  future  we  shall  find  that  it  is  being 
made  the  means  of  attaining  a  great  end. 

The  Spaniards  are  curiously  matter  of  fact.  They  do  not 
care  about  accepting  new  ideas,  but  when  they  do  accept  them, 
they  make  use  of  them  in  a  practical  way. 

Rafael  Salillas  has  published  several  important  works : 
amongst  others,  "  La  Vida  Penal  en  Espafia,"  "  La  Antropo- 
logia  en  el  Derecho  Penal,"  "  Poesia  Delincuente,"  and 
"  Hampa  "  ;  the  latter  being  a  very  interesting  psychological 
study  of  the  gipsies.  In  the  preface  to  "  Hampa,"  this 
scientist  introduces  a  paragraph  which  bears  directly  on  the 
account,  just  given,  of  the  work  being  done  by  the  Madrid 
School  of  Criminology.  He  says  :  "In  criminal  anthropology 
there  is  a  direct  subject — the  study  of  the  character  of  the 
criminal  and  of  the  organic,  physical  and  social  conditions, 
in  which  the  crime  manifested  itself  ;  and  an  indirect  subject 
— that  of  the  actual  nature  of  the  crime  studied  from  the 
point  of  view  of  natural  evolution.  To  approach  the  second 
subject  there  exists  the  Lombrosian  bridge,  which  consists 
of  seven  letters — atavism.  This  second  subject  is  not  very 
large  in  detail :  it  may  be  reduced  to  an  appreciation  of  the 
equivalents  of  crime  in  animals,  savages  and  children." 

The  Spanish  postal  system  does  not  invariably  give  satis- 
faction to  foreign  visitors,  who  find  even  the  sending  of  a 
telegram  a  much  more  complicated  matter  in 
The  Post  Office  Spain  than  it  is  at  home  !     Perhaps  the  most 
Postal  Reforms,  striking  difference,  and  one  which  especially 
affects  residents,  is  the  fee  of  five  centimes 
paid  to  the  postman  for  the  delivery  of  each  inland  letter  and 
postcard.     This  fee    is   part  of   the   salary  of    the  postmen 
amongst  whom  it  is  distributed  pro  rata  ;    it  is  charged  for 
letters  sent  in  the  interior  of  Spain,  nevertheless  in  large 
business  houses  it  frequently  amounts  to  no  trifling  sum. 

Letters  within  the  Postal  Union  cost  25  centimes  and  letters 
for  the  interior  cost  15  centimes  :  this  latter  charge  is  con- 
sidered excessive  in  view  of  the  fact  that  almost  every  other 

3— (2399) 


22  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

country  has  adopted  the  10  centime  postage  for  inland  letters. 
I  shall  speak  later  on  about  this  proposed  reform. 

The  fee  for  registration  is  25  centimes,  and  insufficiently 
prepaid  or  unstamped  inland  letters  are  not  forwarded 
at  all. 

What  at  once  strikes  foreigners  as  a  most  unnecessary 
inconvenience  is  that  there  are  no  postal  orders  or  money 
orders  in  Spain.  Transmission  of  money  to  and  from  foreign 
countries  is  effected  by  banker's  bills  or  cheques.  The 
Libranzas  del  Giro  MiUuo  take  the  place  of  inland  money 
orders  ;  the  amount  to  be  forwarded  being  paid  in  to  the 
financial  administration  of  the  place,  together  with  2% 
commission.  In  the  case  of  France  these  rules  can  sometimes 
be  circumvented  by  the  dispatch  of  a  hon  de  -poste,  payable 
at  the  Credit  Lyonnais,  but  this  is  not  a  very  safe  method  of 
transmission  :  nor  is  there  a  Credit  Lyonnais  in  every  Spanish 
town. 

The  Spanish  method  of  dispatching  telegrams  is  really  most 
unusual,  and,  to  a  foreigner  unacquainted  with  the  little 
formality,  quite  incomprehensible.  When  the  telegram  is 
handed  in  and  the  number  of  words  counted  you  are  informed 
how  much  it  will  cost,  and  it  is  then  necessary  for  you  to 
purchase  stamps  for  the  amount,  and  to  fix  them  to  the 
telegram.  This  is  all  very  well  in  large  post  offices,  where 
stamps  are  to  be  had  at  the  next  desk,  but  in  small  towns  the 
post  office  may  not  have  just  the  requisite  number  of  stamps 
and  then  the  sender  of  the  telegram  has  to  go  and  buy  them 
at  the  nearest  tobacco  shop  !  sometimes  having  to  go  the 
length  of  several  streets,  telegram  in  hand,  and  then  probably 
having  again  to  await  his  turn  when  he  gets  back  to  the  post 
office. 

In  common  justice  to  the  much  maligned  Spanish  post  office, 
it  must  be  recorded  that  politeness — of  an  exceptional  order — 
is  the  prevailing  rule.  When  it  is  possible,  ladies  are  served 
first,  and,  in  many  cases,  chairs  are  provided  for  them  when 
there  is  a  slight  delay. 


CALLE    MAYOR,    MADRID 


Court  and  State  23 

The  reduction  of  the  inland  postage  to  10  centimes  has  been 
urged  for  a  long  while  :  it  is  considered  time  that  Spain  should 
follow  the  example  of  France,  which  has  greatly  benefited  by 
the  change.  Spain's  growing  commercial  activity  necessitates 
an  increase  of  correspondence,  and  many  of  the  smaller 
commercial  houses  find  their  postal  expenses  very  heavy  at 
the  present  rates  of  15  centimes  for  Spain  and  25  for  foreign 
countries. 

Although  a  reduction  of  5  centimes  would  mean  nothing 
to  the  average  well-to-do  citizen,  it  would  be  a  great  economy 
for  poorer  letter-writers,  such  as  the  domestic  servant,  the 
soldier,  and  the  student  of  small  means :  all  of  whom  have  to 
make  sacrifices  in  order  to  write  to  their  families  and  who 
cannot  always  spare  the  necessary  15  centimes  for  the  dispatch 
of  a  letter  or  even  the  5  centime  tax  on  those  received.  Besides, 
as  a  natural  result,  there  would  be  more  letters  written,  and 
the  Postal  Revenues  instead  of  decreasing  would  increase  : 
this  has  occurred  in  other  countries,  and  it  would  certainly 
occur  in  Spain. 

Within  the  last  ten  years,  or  so,  the  Spaniards  have  begun 

to  realise  the  fact  that  their  country  is  gradually  losing  the 

greater  part  of  its  artistic  treasures,  which — 

The  Art        since  there  is  no  law  to  prevent  it — are  beine: 

Spain.  sold    and    taken    away    to    enrich    foreign 

museums.     The    State    appears   now   to    be 

prepared  to  take  action  in  the  matter,  since  a  short  time  ago 

an  organised  protest  was  made  when  it  was  discovered  that 

one  of  the  most  historic  buildings  in  the  land,  dating  from 

the  tenth  century,  and  formerly  the  residence  of  emperors, 

was  on  the  point  of  being  sold  to  a  wealthy  Englishman,  who 

wished    to    transform    it    into    a    country   house.       Steps 

were   taken   to   prevent  the   sale   in   this    particular    case, 

but  there   is    no   law  to    prevent   the   removal   of  historic 

valuables. 

Both  Italy  and  Japan  have  taken  strict  measures  to  prevent 
the  wholesale  plunder  of  their  works  of  art ;   in  Japan  every 


24  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

object  of  historic  interest  is  entered  in  a  Government  schedule 
and  the  owners  are  forbidden  to  part  with  it. 

That  the  same  law  exists  in  Italy  was  demonstrated  at  the 
time  of  the  Messina  earthquake,  when  a  Commission,  which 
proposed  to  search  the  ruins  for  the  purpose  of  buying  any 
art  treasures  which  might  be  found,  were  at  once  informed 
that  there  were  severe  laws  forbidding  the  exportation  of 
works  of  art,  and  that  the  Government  itself  had  control  of 
all  researches  made  among  the  ruins. 

Some  law  of  this  kind  is  urgently  needed  in  Spain,  where 
there  is  no  official  catalogue  of  historic  monuments  ;  the 
authentic  and  the  fraudulent  works  of  art  are  inextricably 
confused,  and  now  that  there  is  a  question  of  changing  the 
legislation  on  this  point,  the  treasure-hunters  are  busily 
availing  themselves  of  what  may  be  their  last  opportunity. 

According  to  statistics  forwarded  to  the  A  cademia  de  Bellas 
Aries,  the  quantity  of  valuables  which  have  been  exported 
within  the  last  few  months  is  incredible.  Among  them  was  a 
priceless  Altar,  with  groups  of  carved  figures — dating  from 
the  sixteenth  century,  which  was  dispatched  to  London  ;  two 
pictures  by  Goya  ;  an  ancient  reliquary  of  rock  crystal  and 
silver ;  a  beautiful  Persian  carpet  from  the  historic  church 
of  the  Portillo  ;  a  souvenir  of  the  seige  of  Zaragoza,  and 
innumerable  antique  jewels  which  can  never  be  replaced.  It 
was  represented  that  nothing  short  of  a  severe  law  would 
prevent  Spain  from  losing  the  artistic  patrimony  of  treasures 
which  are  her  national  inheritance. 

It  is  now  about  two  years  ago  that  a  very  important  contract 

for  the  construction  of  a  new  fleet  for  Spain  was  duly  signed, 

the    Government    accepting    the    proposals 

c  •  h  Fl  t  tendered  by  the  Spanish  Society  of  Naval 
Construction,  a  Syndicate  of  which  the 
practical  head  is  Vickers,  Maxim,  Ltd.,  and  which  is  composed 
of  both  Spanish  and  English  capitalists.  Measures  have 
been  taken  to  ensure  that  Spanish  interests  shall  largely 
predominate ;     60" o    of    the    total    capital   is    Spanish,    the 


Court  and  State  25 

remaining  40%  being  subscribed  by  Vickers,  Maxim,  Ltd., 
John  Brown  &  Co.,  and  Sir  Armstrong  Whitworth  &  Co.,  Ltd. 

The  construction  of  the  Fleet  will  give  a  great  impetus  to 
Spanish  trade,  as  the  Government  has  stipulated  that,  as  far 
as  possible,  all  the  work  is  to  be  done  in  Spain  ;  the  materials 
used  are  also  to  be  purchased  in  Spain  whenever  it  is  feasible, 
although  necessarily  much  will  have  to  be  bought  in  England. 

It  has  been  found  necessary  to  construct  two  new  dock- 
yards :  one  in  Ferrol  and  one  in  Santander,  and  to  enlarge 
and  improve  the  dockyards  already  existing  in  Ferrol. 

It  has  been  proposed  to  build  at  Cartagena  three  destroyers 
of  380  tons  ;  twenty-four  torpedo  boats  of  195  tons,  and  four 
gun-boats  of  eighty  tons.  The  Syndicate  has  acquired  the 
exclusive  right  to  construct  in  Spain  the  famous  Parsons' 
turbines  ;  the  Arsenal  at  Ferrol  is  to  be  equipped  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  construction  of  these  turbines,  and  almost 
all  the  other  works  required  for  the  Fleet,  will  be  able  to  be 
carried  out  there. 

Various  plans  are  being  formed  for  the  benefit  of  the  workmen 
engaged  in  the  shipbuilding  ;  in  this  connection,  we  shall 
probably  have  yet  another  example  of  the  excellent  manage- 
ment which  prevails  when  English  and  Spanish  directors  work 
together. 


CHAPTER   II 

MODERN   LITERATURE 

A  QUOTATION  from  Coventry  Patmore's"  Religio  Poetae  "  may 

very  well  be  permitted  to  illuminate  this  chapter.     The  quoted 

words  were  used  in  connection  with  a  criticism 

Spanish         ^^  ^^^  ^^  Juan  Valera's  best  known  novels, 
Literature.  •' 

and  they  embody  that  subtle,  elusive  spirit 

which  has  always  lent  distinction  to  Spanish  literature.     In 

speaking  of  "  Pepita  Jimenez,"  Patmore  says — 

Alike  in  Calderon  and  in  this  work  of  Juan  Valera,  we  find  the  com- 
plete synthesis  of  gravity  of  matter  and  gaiety  of  manner  which  is 
the  glittering  crown  of  art,  and  which  out  of  Spanish  Literature  is  to 
be  found  only  in  Shakespeare,  and  even  in  him  in  a  far  less  obvious 
degree.  It  is  only  in  Spanish  Literature,  with  the  one  exception  of 
Dante,  that  religion  and  art  are  discovered  to  be  not  necessarily  hostile 
powers  ;  and  it  is  in  Spanish  Literature  only,  and  without  exception, 
that  gaiety  of  life  is  made  to  appear  as  being  not  only  compatible 
with,  but  the  ver}.-  flower  of  that  root  which  in  the  best  works  of  other 
literatures  hides  itself  in  the  earth,  and  only  sends  its  concealed  sap 
through  stem  and  leaf  of  human  duty  and  desire.  The  reason  of  this 
great  and  admirable  singularity  seems  mainly  to  have  been  the  singular 
aspect  of  most  of  the  best  Spanish  minds  towards  religion.  With 
them  religion  has  been,  as  it  was  meant  to  be,  a  human  passion. 

It  would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  find  a  more 
enlightened  revelation  of  the  Spanish  literary  spirit  than  this, 
and  using  the  quoted  words  as  torches  we  find  it  easy  to  see 
how  it  happens  that  Spanish  writers,  and  they  only,  have 
found  it  possible  to  reveal  the  human  side  of  the  priest,  in 
relation  to  human  love,  without  offence.  A  little  later  on  I 
shall  have  occasion  to  speak  of  various  novels  in  which  priests 
play  leading  roles,  and  then  the  truth  of  Patmore's  words  wiU 
be  realised. 

In  seeking  to  balance  cause  and  effect  in  regard  to  modern 
Spanish  hterature  we   find  that  its  branches  spring,   very 


Modern  Literature  27 

largely,  from  two  important  and  wide-spreading  roots — from 
the  influence  of  the  golden  age  in  which  the  works  of  such 
Hterary  giants  as  Santa  Teresa,  Cervantes,  and  Lope  de  Vega 
were  contemporaneous,  and  from  the  influence  of  the  French 
reahstic  school. 

The  influence  of  Cervantes  can  only  be  described  as  universal 

and    deathless.      The    foundations    of    "  Don    Quixote " — 

admittedly    the    finest  novel  the  world  has 

Cervantes.       ever  known — rest  on  the  rock  bed  of  human 

possibilities,  and  in  its  pages  men  and  women 

of  all  nations   have    found   heralds   of   their    most    noble 

thoughts  and  aspirations.     When  we  remember  that  "  Don 

Quixote"    and   "King    Lear"   appeared  in  the  same  year 

we  reahse  that  the  seventeenth  century  stands  alone  in  the 

annals  of  literature. 

Cervantes  and  Shakespeare  both  died  in  1616,  and  it  cannot 
be  said  that  either  was,  during  his  lifetime,  fitly  honoured. 
Cervantes  died  a  poor  man,  but  then  that  does  not  prove  very 
much,  since  the  profession  of  letters  has  never  been  a  really 
lucrative  one  in  Spain.  In  fact,  untU  recent  days  it  was  an 
unheard-of  thing  for  anyone  to  make  literature,  and  that  alone, 
a  profession. 

Cervantes  was  a  soldier  before  he  set  about  conquering 
worlds  with  his  pen.  Lope  de  Vega  was  a  first-class  fighting 
man,  and  in  the  Armada  expedition  used  some  of  his  precious 
manuscript  verses — to  Dorotea,  whom  he  eventually  married 
— as  gun  wads.  Calderon  belonged  to  the  Order  of  Santiago 
and  fought  against  the  Catalan  rebels  in  1640.  In  Spain,  and 
perhaps  here  alone,  the  hand  which  grasped  the  sword  has 
been  equally  doughty  when  handling  the  pen. 

Since  it  is  true  that  in  the  sixteenth  century  England  and 
Spain  were  equally  well  armed  for  a  joust  of  literary  giants, 
it  is  interesting  to  remember  that  no  foreign  nation  has 
equalled  the  English  in  appreciation  of  the  creator  of  the 
"  Knight  of  La  Mancha."  The  first  biography  of  Cervantes  was 
written  by  an  Enghshman  in  1738,  and  the  first  really  fine 


28  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

edition  of  "  Don  Quixote  "  was  prepared,  in  1781,  by  another 

Englishman,  the  Rev.  John  Bowie. 

In  studying  modern  Spanish  literature  we  find  evident,  in 

at  least  two  notable  cases,  the  influence  of  Cervantes  and  of 

Santa  Teresa.     The  genius  of  the  Condesa  de 

Emiha  Pardo  Bazan — the  most  remarkable  woman 

Pardo  Bazan. 

wTiter  of  to-day,  in  any  country — has  been 

compared  by  Juan  Valera  to  that  of  Santa  Teresa  de  J^sus, 

and  Froude  has  more  than  once  compared  the  works  of  Santa 

Teresa  with  those  of  Cervantes.     And  since  a  connecting  link 

has  been  traced,  and  in  master  minds,  between  the  genius  of 

those  great  ones  of  the  past  and  that  of  Emilia  Pardo  Bazan 

it  becomes  evident  that  any  attempt  to  deal  in  stenographic 

style  with  her  ideas  and  works  must  be  surrounded  by  pitfalls, 

none  the  less  dangerous  because  partly  hidden  by  the  wings 

of  the  guardian  of  fools  who  "  rush  in  where  angels  fear  to 

tread."     And  yet  it  is  necessary  to  be  stenographic  in  a 

single  chapter  on  literature  in  which  a  number  of  notable 

writers  have  to  be  introduced  with  some  show  of  honour  and 

reverence. 

Emilia  Pardo  Bazan  is  a  woman  of  profound  and  cathoUc 
learning.  She  is  a  great  linguist ;  is  suificiently  learned  in 
the  dead  languages  to  be  able  to  read  the  classics  in  the 
original ;  she  has  studied,  and  closely,  philosophy  and  many 
of  the  sciences.  It  was  her  ambition  to  fit  herself  for  a  place 
in  the  profession  of  letters  side  by  side  with  the  greatest, 
regardless  of  sex,  and  that  ambition  has  been  fully  realised, 
In  speaking  of  this  gifted  woman,  Castelar,  in  a  discourse 
delivered  at  the  University  of  Paris,  once  said  :  "In  literature 
we  have  a  Celtic  writer,  Emilia  Pardo  Bazan,  whom,  though 
still  living,  we  count  amongst  the  immortals,  and  whose  works 
we  consider  classics  by  reason  of  their  mastery  of  style  and 
of  our  national  language." 

The  most  enchanting,  as  the  most  distracting,  quality  of  this 
writer  is  her  many-sidedness.  She  has  published  a  bewildering 
number  of  important  works,  historical,  polemical,  critical,  and 


Modern  Literature  29 

biographical.  Besides  this  she  has  written  many  novels.  But 
even  in  deahng  exclusively  with  the  latter  the  many-sided 
nature  of  the  writer  is  very  baffling. 

Space  being  limited  and  the  subject  vast,  I  have  decided 
to  speak  in  detail  of  only  three  or  four  of  Emilia  Pardo  Bazan's 
works.  Since  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  give  an  adequate  idea 
of  the  whole  it  will,  I  think,  be  best  to  indicate  the  directions 
in  which  her  genius  flows,  and  to  place  in  position  some  sign- 
posts, for  the  guidance  of  those  who  happily  have  time  and 
opportunity  to  follow  its  surging  streams. 

The  Condesa  de  Pardo  Bazan  is  a  native  of  Galicia  and  is 

sincerely  attached  to  her  native  soil.     In  several  of  her  books 

she  has  given   graphic   descriptions   of  that 

Graphic         north  and  north-western  coast  of  Spain  which 

Galicia.         is  washed  by  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic   and 

by  the  Biscay  waters.     She  has  written  of 

Galicia  as  Pereda  has  written  of  Santander  and  Salvador 

Rueda  of  Andalusia,  with  perfect  sympathy  and  clear  insight. 

Amongst  the  many  charms  of  Spain  the  Enchantress  none 

is  more  potent  than  the  kaleidoscopic  effects  to  be  found  on 

every  side. 

In  Spain  there  are  many  Spains,  and  each  one  is  worthy  of 
study ;  the  various  provinces  differ  as  though  they  did  not 
belong  to  the  same  mother-country  ;  each  possesses  its  own 
dances,  folk-songs,  costumes,  customs,  and  dialect. 

The  people  of  Galicia,  for  example,  are  of  purely  Celtic 
origin.  Their  Celtic  ancestors  emigrated  from  Galicia  into 
Ireland  about  the  year  200  B.C.  That  was  the  age  of  Ossian 
and  of  Fingall,  who  seem  the  prototypes  of  a  Galician  poet 
of  to-day,  Eduardo  Pondal. 

"  De  mi  tierra,"  one  of  Emilia  Pardo  Bazan's  earlier  works, 
a  volume  of  essays  and  criticism,  which  deals  chiefly  with  the 
literature  of  Galicia,  is  very  little  known,  because  of  the 
difficulties  presented  by  the  dialect  in  which  much  of  it  is 
written.  In  this  book  she  says,  in  speaking  of  the  poetry  of 
her  province,  that,  "  Before  being  judged,  these  poems  have 


30  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

to  be  felt ;  they  are  as  essentially  part  of  our  country  and  of 
our  life  as  are  the  breezes  of  our  coasts  and  the  maize  of  our 
harvests." 

Galicia  has  always  considered  itself  the  twin-sister  of 
Portugal  and  it  is  probable  that  Portuguese  and  GaUego  were 
one  and  the  same  language  until  the  fifteenth  century.  This 
kinship  with  the  neighbouring  kingdom  has  helped  to  separate 
Galicia  from  the  rest  of  Spain  and  Spaniards  have  found  some 
difficulty  in  appreciating  the  literature  of  this  Celtic  race — a 
literature  which  reflects  the  coldness  and  mystery  of  wild 
seas  and  inaccessible  mountains. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  essays  in  "  De  mi  Tierra  "  is  that 

entitled  "  Moonlight  "  ;    this  essay  deals  with  the  poems  of 

that  curious,  old-world  poet  Pondal,  and  the 

Ed  ^°d'^P°^d  1    ^^^^^  "  ^Ioo"ligl^t  "  is  based  on  the  poetic  idea 

that  Galician  poems  are  full  of  the  cold  light 

of  the  moon  in  contradistinction,  for  example,  to  the  poems 

of  Andalusia  which  are  radiant  with  warmth  and  sunlight. 

Eduardo  Pondal  has  reproduced  in  his  writings  the  very 
atmosphere  of  Galicia.  His  soul  seems  filled  with  the  murmur- 
ing of  pine  trees,  which  is  an  echo  of  the  sob  of  the  restless 
ocean  on  a  stormy  night.  His  love  for  the  mysterious  pine 
is  ever  present,  and  two  of  his  most  remarkable  works  are 
entitled  "  Rumores  de  los  pinos  "  and  "  Queixumes  (Lamenta- 
tions) de  los  pinos."  Pondal  has  showTi  in  these  books  a 
spirit  essentially  allied  to  that  of  the  ancient  Celtic  bards  : 
he  is  eloquent  with  love  and  reverence  for  the  earth,  the  air, 
the  moon,  and  his  conception  of  love  is  that  of  the  primitive 
man  in  the  mysterious  ages  which  preceded  the  birth  of  Our 
Lord. 

Emilia  Pardo  Bazan  points  out  that  in  the  study  of  Pondal's 
works  the  curious  fact  becomes  apparent  that  they  contain  no 
evidences  of  the  existence  of  Christianity  ;  they  convey  the 
idea  that  the  poet  had  been  brought  up  in  full  belief  in  the 
pantheistic  worship  of  the  bards  ;  in  the  adoration  of  oak-tree 
and  moon  !     And  the  fact  that  this  point  of  view  is  perfectly 


Modern  Literature  31 

natural  and  unpremeditated  makes  his  works  curiously 
interesting. 

"  De  mi  tierra  "  is  full  of  picturesque  criticisms  and  appre- 
ciations of  a  literature  which  is  too  little  known  ;  amongst 
these  we  find  a  detailed  account  of  the 
"De  mi  tierra."  writings  of  the  blind  poet,  Valentin  Lamas, 
This  poet  has  published  surprisingly  beautiful 
word  pictures  of  Galicia  ;  his  poems  are  homely  and  simple, 
but  they  belong  to  the  soil.  The  soft  odour  of  damp  earth 
and  the  teams  of  oxen  patiently  ploughing  the  fields  are 
lovingly  dealt  with  by  one  who  has  only  known  them  in  the 
spirit. 

Passing  away  from  the  works  of  Emilia  Pardo  Bazan  which 
treat,  chiefly,  of  scenery,  life,  culture  and  progress  in  her  own 
province,  another  phase  of  her  genius  presents  itself — her 
powerful  short  stories. 

In  a  volume  entitled  "  Cuentos  Sacro-profanos,"  several 

notable  short  stories  appear.     Two  of  these,   "  La  Sed  de 

Cristo  "  and  "  La  logica,"  created  an  extra- 

Cr' to  "        ordinary  sensation  in  Spain  some  years  ago. 

For  months  everyone  talked  of  them,   and 

their  author  was  pilloried  and  exposed  to  the  expostulations 

of  thousands.     Indeed,  in  the  matter  of  "  La  Sed  de  Cristo," 

it  may  be  said  that  it  rivalled  the  famous  "  Pequefieces  "  of 

the    Padre    Coloma    as    a   literary    bomb    of    far-reaching 

power. 

It  is  a  little  difficult  to  understand  why  "  La  Sed  de  Cristo  " 
should  have  so  horrified  the  Spanish  public.  Certainly  it 
contains  not  one  word  which  could  be  considered  profane,  or 
which  detracts  from  the  Majesty  and  Glory  of  Our  Lord. 
Possibly  it  might  be  argued  that  no  writer  is  justified  in  deahng 
with  a  divine  and  historic  episode  in  a  purely  imaginative 
spirit.  There  is  something  to  be  said  for  this  point  of  view, 
but  not  enough  to  justify  the  manner  in  which  this  cuento 
was  received  in  Spain. 

This  curious  and  poetic  little  story  is  woven  round  one  of 


32  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

Christ's  words  from  the  cross  :  "  I  thirst."  Mary  Magdalen 
is  represented  kneehng,  grief  stricken,  at  the  foot  of  the  cross, 
and  on  hearing  the  painful  words  of  her  dying  Master,  she 
resolved  to  go  in  search  of  some  rare  and  exquisite  draught 
which  might  be  worthy  to  assuage  His  thirst.  Not  far  from 
Calvary  there  was  a  limpid  stream  springing  crystal-like 
among  the  rocks.  Mary  ran  to  it  and,  having  filled  a  bowl 
with  the  cool  water,  returned  and  offered  it  to  her  suffering 
Lord.  He  turned  aside  his  head  and  repeated,  "  I  thirst." 
Fearing  it  was  the  slight  value  of  the  offering  that  caused 
it  to  be  refused,  Mary  fled  towards  Jerusalem  and  begged  of 
Herod's  head  steward  a  cup  of  priceless  wine,  of  which  a  single 
drop  would  suffice  to  revive  a  dying  man.  Again  her  offering 
was  silently  refused. 

Distracted  with  grief  the  Magdalen  made  a  further  journey 
in  search  of  the  sacred  ambrosia  of  the  Greek  gods,  but  not 
alone  was  her  offering  refused  but  the  dying  Christ  turned 
His  head  from  her  in  bitter  sorrow.  Mary  sank  to  the  foot 
of  the  cross,  overwhelmed  with  a  sense  of  her  own  unworthi- 
ness.  As  she  thought  of  her  past  life  and  of  her  many  sins 
her  heart  became  filled  with  grief  and  remorse  and  her  tears 
flowed  fast ;  it  seemed  as  though  her  broken  heart  were 
melted  in  those  bitter  tears  of  humility  and  contrition. 
Raising  her  eyes  to  the  Saviour's  face  she  read  there  an  ardent 
but  silent  request,  and  suddenly  a  light  broke  upon  her.  She 
gathered  her  fast  falling  tears  in  trembling  hands,  and 
with  them  moistened  the  parched  lips.  The  thirst  was 
assuaged. 

In  the  closing  words  of  this  little  story  Emilia  Pardo  Bazan 
forestalls  possible  criticisms  by  clearly  stating  that  it  is  not 
founded  on  Biblical  authority,  nor  upon  any  ecclesiastical 
tradition.  That  it  simply  sets  forth  the  clear  doctrine  of  the 
Gospel ;  that  repentance,  humility  and  true  contrition  are 
alone  dear  to  the  heart  of  Our  Lord. 

After  the  "  Sed  de  Cristo  "  the  story  which  called  forth  the 
most  scathing  criticism  was  "  La  logica,"  the  plot  of  which 


Modern  Literature  33 

is  based  on  the  curious  mania  of  a  man  possessed  with  the 

idea  that  the  only  logical  way  of  ensuring  the  certain  welfare 

and  happiness  of  his  wife  and  child  was  to  kill 

"  La  l(5gica. ' '  them  both  and  so  to  put  them  out  of  the  reach 
of  possible  sin  and  unhappiness  !  In  this 
little  story,  as  in  many  others,  it  would  appear  that  a  series 
of  foot-notes  was  necessary  to  make  clear  the  writer's  inten- 
tions, for  in  Spain,  at  least,  the  impression  was  given  that  the 
Sefiora  de  Pardo  Bazan  recommended  murder  and  suicide 
as  a  possible  solution  for  the  problems  of  life  !  In  reahty, 
her  views  were  expressed  by  the  priest  who  attended  Justino 
Guijarro  on  the  eve  of  his  execution.  In  a  few  simple  but 
intensely  dramatic  words  this  priest  makes  it  clear  that 
profoundly  entangled  logical  reasonings  were  absolutely  to  be 
shunned  because  that,  besides  being  impious,  they  most 
certainly  are  fecund  seeds  of  delusion  and  madness. 

All  these  cuentos  are  powerful  as  they  are  original ;  several 
of  them  treat  of  incidents  in  the  lives  of  priests  and  one  of 
the  most  spirituel  is  "  Travesura  pontificia,"  in  which,  in 
connection  with  an  amusing  incident,  the  reader  is  permitted 
to  enjoy  the  delicate  humour  in  which  the  Vatican  occasionally 
indulges.  A  humour  which  finds  expression  in  a  subtle  smile 
rather  than  in  a  hearty  laugh  ! 

The  Condesa  de  Pardo  Bazan,  who  is,  as  I  have  already 
said,  very  much  interested  in  aU  things  connected  with  her 
own  province,  has  taken  active  part  in  the  various  discussions 
that  have,  from  time  to  time,  arisen  on  the  subject  of 
"  language  or  dialect."  Many  persons  have  contended  that 
Gallego  is  a  distinct  language,  but  the  author  of  "  De  mi 
tierra  "  declares  it  to  be  a  dialect,  and  she  adds  that  in  thus 
placing  Gallego  she  is  not  making  the  least  suggestion  of 
inferiority  since  most  of  the  great  languages  are  in  reality  only 
dialects  of  some  other  tongue.  She  brings  forward  the  example 
of  Provencal,  which  is  popularly  supposed  to  be  a  corrupt 
form  of  French,  but  which  is  in  reality  the  language  which 
was  spoken  all  over  France  from  the  sixth  to  the  ninth 


34  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

centuries ;  and  from  Provencal  was  derived  modern  French, 
Italian,  Portuguese,  and  Spanish. 

It  is  certainly  true  that  almost  the  only  European  language 

which  possesses  the  qualifications  necessary  for  the  claim  of 

"  language  "  is  Basque,  the  origin  of  which 

^^'' lan^fge"'"^  is  lost  in  remote  antiquity  and  which  it  is 

supposed  may  have  been  the  original  tongue 

of  pre-historic  man  ! 

In  several  of  the  works  of  this  gifted  writer  we  find  exquisite 
descriptions  of  scenery  in  the  wilder  parts  of  Spain,  but 
country  life  in  Galicia  itself  is  especially  well  depicted  in 
"  Pazos  de  Ulloa,"  one  of  her  early  novels.  This  book  is 
full  of  enchanting  word-pictures  of  majestic  mountains, 
massive  grey  rocks  and  turbulent  rivers  which  wind  in  and 
out  of  lonely  vaUeys. 

The  plot  is  laid  in  one  of  the  old  feudal  castles  which  still 
exist  in  many  of  these  mountain  heights  and  which  can  be 
reached  only  on  mule  back.  In  some  of  these  castles  it 
would  appear  that  the  old  customs  of  the  twelfth  century 
hold  good  and  that  the  tenants  are  still  regarded,  by  the  lord 
of  the  estate,  as  serfs  with  whom  he  can  deal  as  he  thinks  best. 

The  little  scattered  villages,  with  their  classic  Ferias, 
political  intrigues,  simple  home  life — aU  are  described  accu- 
rately and  sympathetically  by  this  Galician  writer,  who 
understands  the  heart  and  soul  of  her  own  province  better 
than  any  other  living  Spaniard. 

Of  the  long  and  serious  novels  by  Emilia  Pardo  Bazan,  the 

most  remarkable,  in  many  respects,  is  "  La  Quimera,"  a  work 

which  treats  of  society  in  Madrid,  Paris,  and 

"  La  Quimera. ' '  Alborada — the    latter    representing    a    small 

town  in  Galicia.     This  novel,  besides  throwing 

a  vivid  searchlight  on  the  doings  of  fashionable  society,  is 

profoundly    psychological.     It    has   for    a    fond    Flaubert's 

dialogue  between  "  Le  Sphinx  et  La  Chimere,"  and  it  contains 

character  studies  which  are  as  masterly  in  conception  as  in 

realisation. 


Modern  Literature  35 

When  this  book  was  first  pubhshed  it  created  no  Httle 
sensation  in  Madrid,  as  it  was  loudly  whispered  that  many 
of  the  characters  had  been  drawn  direct  from  life  ;  it  is  possible 
that  there  was  some  truth  in  this  rumour,  nevertheless  "  La 
Quimera  "  cannot  be  said  to  vie  with  "  Pequeiieces  "  as  a 
criticism  on  the  doings  of  society. 

In  this  remarkable  novel  the  author's  widely  diverse  gifts 
are  brought  to  bear  on  a  single  volume  ;  her  intimate  know- 
ledge of  social  life  in  Madrid  and  Paris  is  wedded  to  her 
enchanting  gift  of  scenic  description.  The  "  quimera  "  which 
supplies  the  leading  theme  is  the  impassioned  pursuit  of  an 
ideal  state  of  existence,  frequently  unattainable,  with  which 
so  many  minds  are  possessed  in  these  days.  One  person 
spends  her  life  in  the  pursuit  of  fame  ;  another  in  the  pursuit 
of  ideal  love  ;  yet  another  in  the  fruitless  search  for  universal 
admiration.  In  each  case  the  "  quimera  "  is  a  monster  which 
eventually  crushes  its  victim. 

In  this  novel  the  character  of  the  hero,  a  young  painter, 
is  finely  drawn  ;  he  is  possessed  of  boundless  ambition,  and 
desires  to  be  great  as  Rubens  or  Velasquez,  but  circumstances 
force  him  to  make  pastel  portraits  of  pretty  society  women. 
These  aristocratic,  capricious,  society  women  are  perfectly 
portrayed  ;  one  of  them  seeks  to  grasp  the  chimere  of  perfect 
happiness  through  the  medium  of  morphia  ;  another  is  driven, 
by  the  cruelty  of  the  disappointed  painter,  to  seek  for  hien 
etre  behind  the  walls  of  a  convent. 

It  is  a  notable  work  and  one  which  will  stand  the  test  of 
time. 

Emilia  Pardo  Bazan  is  anxious  to  further  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  women  in  Spain.     In  this  cause  she  has  founded, 
edited,   and  partly  written  a  comprehensive 

"  1^'^Mu-ef  "'^^   Bihlioteca  de  la  Mujer  (Woman's  Library),  in 

which  she  presents  a  number  of  useful  and 

instructive   works.     This  library  is  divided  into   sections : 

Rehgious,    Sociological,    Fictional,    Biographical,    Historical, 

Critical,  etc.     In  the  sociological  section  we  find  some  of 


36  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

John  Stuart  Mill's  best  known  works,  and  in  the  critical 
section  there  is  a  powerful  work  on  "La  Revolucion  y  la 
No  vela  en  Rusia,"  by  the  Editress  herself.  "  Memorias  de 
Madame  de  Stael,"  "  Women  of  the  French  Revolution," 
and  George  Eliot's  "  Adam  Bede "  are  included  in  this 
library. 

While  reviewing,  briefly  and  inadequately,  the  personality 
and  the  genius  of  this  notable  woman,  it  is  interesting  to  recall 
some  words  which  she  contributed  to  a  Parisian  weekly  paper, 
not  long  ago.  In  this  paper,  La  Vie  Heureuse,  the  question  had 
been  asked  :  "  Quelles  quahtes  faut-il  pour  etre  heureuse  ?  " 
Answers  from  a  number  of  well-known  personages  were 
printed,  and  amongst  these  there  were  three  from  Spanish 
writers  of  whose  works  I  am  speaking  in  this  chapter.  I 
cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  give  these  answers  in  full. 
In  the  first  place  we  have  that  of  the  Condesa  de  Pardo  Bazan  : 
"  Si  je  savais  quelles  sont  les  qualites  qui  assurent  le  bonheur 
d'une  femme,  je  me  serais  consacree  a  les  acquerir.  J 'ignore 
completement  quelles  sont  ces  qualites.  H  y  a  des  qualites 
fort  estimables  qui  ne  contribuent  aucunement  au  bonheur. 
Et  en  Espagne  on  dit  sou  vent  :  '  Celle  qui  nait  tres  belle 
est  malheureuse.'  Du  reste  le  bonheur  est  aussi  chose  relative 
et  discutable.  Parfois,  il  s'appuie  sur  des  defauts,  ou  sur  des 
qualit6s  plutot  inferieures.     Done je  ne  sais  rien." 

And  then,  short  and  to  the  point,  the  answer  of  Perez 
Galdos  :  "  Les  qualites  qui  rendent  la  femme  heureuse  sont 
celles  qui  refletent,  compl^tent,  suppleent  celles  de  I'homme." 

And,  last  of  all,  the  answer  of  the  most  daring  realistic  writer 
in  Spain — the  "  Spanish  Zola,"  as  he  has  so  often  been  called, — 
Vicente  Blasco  Ibaiiez  :  "  Je  pense  que  les  qualitds  les  plus 
propres  a  assurer  le  bonheur  d'une  femme  sont  celles  qui  lui 
permcttent  de  se  faire  aimer.  L'amour  est  I'^tat  d'illusion 
qui  nous  aide  a  supporter  les  tristesses  de  la  vie.  Pour 
6clairer  la  monotonie  de  I'existence  quotidienne  nous  avons 
besoin  de  nous  tromper  nous-memes  ;  et  de  toutes  les  ruses, 
l'amour  est  la  plus  charmante." 


Modern  Literature  37 

It  is  not  necessary  to  take  any  of  these  answers  very  seriously, 
but  each,  in  its  own  way,  is  a  landmark  which  indicates  marked 
differences  of  outlook. 

Juan  Valera  y  Alcala  Galiano  is  one  of  the  most  fascinating 

figures  in  the  world  of  Spanish  hterature.     He  is  no  longer 

with  us  in  the  flesh,  but  the  shadow  of  his 

Juan  Valera.  spirit  haunts  the  imagination  of  more  than 
one,  and  it  may  very  well  happen  that  one 
day  this  insistent  shadow  will  return  to  its  alter  ego,  bearing 
with  it  the  full  appreciation  denied  it  on  earth.  For  Valera 
was  not,  in  his  own  country,  a  really  popular  writer.  The 
Spaniards  acknowledged  his  charm  of  matter  and  perfection 
of  style,  but  he  was  as  "  one  born  out  of  due  time."  In  this 
connection  Valera  himself  said  :  "I  have,  and  always  shall 
have,  few  readers." 

Towards  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  literary 
son  of  Spain  teemed  with  virile  germs  of  realism,  and  when 
these  germs  burst  forth  into  vigorous  life  they  proved  all 
powerful,  or  nearly  so,  for  they  never  found  it  possible  to 
draw  the  calm  and  purely  beautiful  ideals  of  Valera  into  even 
a  passing  exchange  of  amenities. 

Zola  was  at  that  period  the  Napoleon  of  the  reading  world. 
He  was  admired  or  execrated,  according  to  individual  taste, 
but  he  was  a  power  in  the  land  and  his  influence  was  far- 
reaching.  It  is  very  interesting  to  study  the  effect  of  Zolaism 
on  the  writers  of  different  nations,  and,  though  this  is  neither 
the  time  nor  place  to  enlarge  on  the  subject,  I  must  draw 
attention  to  the  fact  that  realism,  as  understood  of  Zola,  never 
took  root  in  England.  English  reaHsts  there  have  been,  of 
a  somewhat  hybrid  order,  but  the  spirit  of  Zola  never  found 
a  mate  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  ether. 

Notwithstanding  legends  and  traditions  to  the  contrary,  it 
still  remains  that  England  is  the  home  of  romance  and  senti- 
ment. Realism  is  foreign  to  it  and  if,  as  wiU  never  be  the 
case,  it  were  to  any  appreciable  extent  artificially  introduced 
into  the  soil,  the  result  could  not  fail  to  be  unpleasant. 

4— (2399) 


38  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

Quite  otherwise  with  the  soil  of  Spain,  but  even  here,  in  the 

land  of  born,  natural,  realists,  the  French  spirit  is  alien.     Up 

to  the  present,  ever    since    the    first    burst 

Influence  of  ^j  cosmopohtan  enthusiasm  over  the  achieve- 
ments of  Zola,  Flaubert,  Daudet,  etc.,  the 
Spanish  writers,  many  of  them,  have  accepted  with 
acclamation  the  dominion  of  the  French  school  ;  but  already 
the  tide  shows  signs  of  turning. 

Nature  must,  sooner  or  later,  assert  herself,  and  apart  as 
the  poles,  fundamentally,  is  nature  in  the  Frenchman  and 
in  the  Spaniard.  There  is  every  reason  why  the  Spaniards 
ought  to  be  the  greatest  realists  in  the  world,  but  when  they 
arrive  at  their  goal  the  influence  of  the  French  school  will 
have  loosed  its  hold  and  the  literary  sons  of  Spain  will  have 
taken  possession  of  a  kingdom  wholly  their  own.  It  savours 
of  heterodoxy  to  introduce  the  subject  of  realism  in  connection 
with  Juan  Valera  for,  of  all  Spanish  wTiters,  he  was  farthest 
removed  from  its  influence,  but  in  searching  for  the  reason 
of  Valera's  confined  success,  in  his  own  country,  Zolaism  has 
to  be  taken  into  consideration  ;  he  would  have  none  of  it  at 
a  time  when  the  reading  public  was,  like  poor  little  Oliver, 
"  asking  for  more."  Valera  was  a  man  of  lofty  ideals.  He 
worshipped  beauty  of  form  and  was  strongly  imbued  with  the 
Greek  spirit.  Violent  contrasts  he  frankly  detested,  and  all 
through  his  long  life  he  remained  serenely  consistent.  Though 
realising,  and  accurately  appraising,  the  strength  of  the 
currents  of  romanticism,  realism,  decadentism  and  symbolism 
which  successively  swept  past  him,  he  never  permitted 
turbulent  waters  to  disturb  the  calm  of  his  Hellenic  lake. 

With  regard  to  literature,  one  of  Valera's  ideals  is  best 
expressed  in  his  own  words :  "  Writings  become  famous  and 
immortal  by  their  beauty  and  not  by  the  truth  they  teach." 
To  the  ordinary  mind  this  announcement  rings  hollow,  for 
what  are  beautiful  writings  if  not  the  perfect  expression  of 
thoughts  ?  And  if  written  words,  even  at  their  best,  are  but 
the  visible  sign  of  thoughts  how  can  we  accept  this  further 


Modern  Literature  39 

sentence  :  "  The  pretension  of  those  who  believe  it  is  possible 
to  teach  by  writing  is  nearly  always  vain  ?  "  You  may  not 
write  for  the  purpose  of  teaching,  but  how  can  you  limit  the 
influence  of  written  words  ?  Other  WTiters  than  Valera  have 
cherished  this  same  ideal  but,  unconsciously,  some  of  these 
have  been  forced  into  the  despised  position  of  teacher.  No  one 
who  has  read  "  Dorian  Grey  "  could  conceive  it  possible  that 
a  more  penetrating  sermon  could  have  been  delivered  from 
pulpit  or  desk.  And  yet  the  author  of  that  history  of  a 
physical  debacle  would  have  turned  with  horror  from  anyone 
who  had  greeted  him  as  a  moral  teacher. 

In  the  life  story  of  a  Don  Juan  other  than  Don  Juan  Valera, 
the  following  verse  is  to  be  found — 

But  words  are  things,  and  a  small  drop  of  ink, 

Falling  like  dew  upon  a  thought,  produces 
That  which  makes  thousands,  perhaps  millions,  think. 

Valera's  heroines  have  supplied  subject  matter  for  dis- 
cussions in  at  least  three  languages.  They  are,  almost  without 
exception,  splendid  creatures  :  strong,  resolute,  full  of  vivid 
life,  dignity  and  personal  charm.  They  ride,  dance,  walk, 
talk,  fall  in  love,  and  take  good  care  of  themselves — all  to 
perfection.  They  are  by  turns  amazing,  delicious,  and 
inspiring  !  In  fact,  they  are  pretty  well  everything  that  is 
adorable,  but  the  question  so  often  asked  is  :  "  Are  they 
Spanish  ?  " 

I  think  it  may  fairly  be  admitted  that  the  Valera  woman — 
it  is  not  incorrect  to  speak  of  her  in  the  singular — does  not 
recall  the  average  Spanish  woman  of  everyday  life.  As  a 
type  she  does  not  seem  to  belong  to  Spain  of  to-day,  but  then 
it  is  most  unlikely  that  she  was  intended  to  do  so.  Her 
creator  was  an  idealist  whose  conception  of  the  beautiful 
and  fitting  rested  on  far-reaching  foundations.  Pepita 
Jimenez  and  Doila  Luz  may  not  to-day  exist  in  Spain,  except 
in  isolated  and  exceptional  circumstances,  but  the  qualities 
which  make  these  women  so  delightful  sleep  lightly  under  the 
surface  covering  of  conventionaUsm,  in  which  the  average 


40  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

Spanish  woman  is  wrapt.  It  has  been  said  that  Valera 
created  an  exotic  type,  and  it  is  hkely  that  to  his  women, 
largely,  he  owed  his  confined  success  in  Spain,  but  it  is  never- 
theless true  that  the  virile  germs  thrown  together  for  the 
creation  of  this  "  type  "  were  quite  Spanish. 

In  many  respects  the  Valera  type  represents  the  eternal 
woman.     A  healthy,  vivid   creature,  neither  purely  ancient 

nor  purely  modern,    but  wholly  refreshing, 
A  born         ^^^   whose  companionship  could  not  fail  to 

be  stimulating  and  beneficial.  Au  fond,  the 
various  particles  necessary  for  the  construction  of  the 
eternal  woman  are  cosmopolitan.  If  you  care  to  see 
a  Valera  woman  through  English  e3^es,  follow  closely  the 
feelings,  thoughts  and  actions  of  Dominie  Enfilden  in  "  The 
Garden  of  Allah,"  or,  with  reservations,  of  "  Diana  of  the 
Crossways."  Don  Juan  Valera  was  a  diplomatist  by  profession 
and,  so  it  seemed,  a  novelist  by  accident.  Always  a  man  of 
letters,  he  early  published  some  volumes  of  poems,  and  these 
poems  remained  to  the  last  his  best  loved  children  of  the  pen. 
When  quite  a  young  man  he  became  second  secretary  of  the 
Spanish  Legation  at  Naples,  under  the  Duque  de  Rivas, 
and  he  was  accustomed  to  speak  of  the  years  passed  in  Italy 
as  the  happiest  of  his  life.  It  seemed  as  though  Nature 
specially  intended  him  for  the  diplomatic  service,  for  she 
endowed  him  richly  with  every  quality  necessary  for  success 
in  that  career.  He  was  a  learned,  polished  man  of  the  world, 
endowed  with  great  natural  distinction  of  manner,  and 
possessing  much  of  the  charm  of  the  southern  Spaniard :  for 
he  was  a  son  of  Andalucia — and  very  proud  of  the  fact.  He 
was  above  all  a  man  incapable  of  giving  offence  or  of  causing 
pain,  and  it  used  to  be  said  of  him  that,  in  the  role  of  critic 
of  modern  writers,  he  deliberately  ignored  works  which  did 
not  plecise  him  rather  than  say  disagreeable  things  about 
them.  This  accusation  is  probably  apocryphal,  but  it  was 
based  on  possibilities. 

Valera's  first  and  most  popular  novel  was  not  wTitten  until 


Modern  Literature  41 

travel  in  many  countries  and  close  study  of  human  nature  had 
shaped  and  polished  his  views  of  life.  "  Pepita  Jimenez  "  at 
once  attracted  general  attention,  and  in  Spain  Valera  is  still 
almost  always  spoken  of  in  connection  with  this  book. 

In  "  Pepita,"  the  marriage  of  religion  and  art,  of  which 
Coventry  Patmore  has  spoken,  is  excellently  exemplified. 
The  hero  of  the  book  is  a  young  Spaniard  who,  with  all 
sincerity  and  fervour,  is  preparing  to  become  a  priest.  A 
restrained  and  life-like  picture  is  drawn  of  this  young  man, 
whose  only  desire  is  to  do  his  duty  and  to  serve  his  God  with 
all  the  strength  of  his  nature.  With  much  delicacy  and 
penetration  Valera  unrolls  the  story  of  his  meeting  with 
Pepita  Jimenez,  a  young  widow  of  delicious  charm  ;  and  of 
the  human  love  which  makes  him  realise,  in  bitterness  of  soul 
not  far  removed  from  rapture,  that  he  has  mistaken  his 
vocation.  The  character  of  Pepita  is  drawn  by  a  master 
hand.  Here  we  have  the  true  Valera  woman  :  a  human, 
lovable  creature,  worthy  to  touch  the  wings  of  angels,  and 
yet — a  very  woman  who  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to 
exercise  her  powers  of  fascination.  One  of  the  finest  character 
studies  in  the  book  is  that  of  a  priest  who  does  not  appear 
in  person,  but  whose  letters  to  the  distracted  young  student 
are  models  of  sympathy  and  common  sense. 

In  "  Dofia  Luz  "  the  interest  of  the  story  again  circulates 

round  a  religious  struggle.     A  priest — one  of  the  best  and 

simplest    of    men — unconsciously    learnt    to 

A  Religious     J        ^  beautiiul  woman.     This  love,  striven 
Struggle.  .  .... 

against    with    prayer   and  fasting,   is    never 

revealed     during    the     good     man's    Ufetime,     but     after 

his  death  the  woman  discovers  some  of  his  manuscripts,  in 

which  the  whole  story  is  written  in  heart-blood. 

Many  eminent  critics  have  pronounced  "  Comendador 
Mendoza  "  to  be  Valera's  finest  work,  but  I  feel  inclined  to 
award  the  laurel  crown  to  "  Genio  y  Figura,"  one  of  his  last 
and  strongest  novels. 

The  heroine,  Rafaela  la  Generosa,  could  not  be  regarded  as 


42  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

reputable,  especially  in  her  younger  days,  but  she  is  a  splendid 
spirited  woman  who  possessed,  in  a  marked  degree,  a  curious 
sense  of  honour  which  can  only  be  described  as  manlike  !  She, 
like  other  heroines  of  this  writer,  seemed  to  see  life  through 
a  man's  eyes,  while  always  remaining,  physically  and  mentally, 
a  very  woman. 

Towards  the  end  of  his  long  life  Valera  became  blind,  and 
his  later  writings  had  to  be  dictated,  not  written.  To  the 
end  he  remained  keenly  interested  in  all  matters  which 
concerned  literature,  and  the  work  that  occupied  him  at  the 
last  was  a  discourse  on  Cervantes,  which  was  read  before  the 
Spanish  Academy  on  the  occasion  of  the  tercentenary  of 
"  Don  Quixote."  Shortly  before  this  celebration  Valera  died 
of  apoplexy  at  his  home  in  Madrid, 

In  marked  contrast  to  Juan  Valera  there  is  Benito  Perez 

Galdos,  a  serious  teacher  and  an  ardent  reformer.     Galdos 

may  be  said  to  be  the  most  representative 

^^G^M^^'^^^  literary  force  in  Spain  on  the  side  of  pro- 
gressive reform,  and  of  all  modern  writers  he 
has  been  the  most  misunderstood,  especially  in  France,  where 
his  supposed  views  on  religion  and  politics  have  been  eagerly 
taken  up  and  exploited  by  conflicting  parties  who  have  not 
hesitated,  in  many  cases,  to  distort  his  meaning  in  adapting 
it  to  their  own  theories.  The  early  training  of  Galdos  was 
well  fitted  to  encourage  the  powers  of  observation  which,  later 
on,  developed  themselves  and  made  of  him  a  great  dramatist 
and  even  a  greater  novelist. 

He  was  born  in  1845  at  Las  Palmas,  and  passed  the  first 
eighteen  years  of  his  life  in  the  Canary  Islands,  where  a  large 
part  of  the  population  is  English  and  where  Protestant  and 
Catholic  faiths  flourish  side  by  side.  The  young  Spaniard 
early  became  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  English  language 
and  an  ardent  admirer  of  Dickens,  whose  influence  on  his 
after-life  proved  far-reaching. 

In  1864  Galdos  left  the  Canary  Islands  and  went  to  Madrid. 
He  had  an  idea  of  studying  law,  but  quickly  abandoned  this 


Modern  Literature  43 

intention  and  turned,  for  a  short  time,  to  journalism.  His 
experiences  of  newspaper  work  showed  him  the  difficulty  of 
doing  anything  really  useful  in  an  atmosphere  of  political 
intrigue,  and  he  soon  arrived  at  a  determination  to  withdraw 
from  public  life  as  much  as  possible  and  to  devote  all  his 
energies  to  an  exhaustive  study  of  Spain  :  her  hopes,  necessi- 
ties, possibilities,  and  aspirations.  He  wished  to  devote  his 
life  to  writing,  but  in  a  clear  atmosphere  where  his  ideas  and 
patriotic  desires  could  remain  untrammelled. 

In  Spain,  where  a  large  part  of  the  reading  public  wishes  to 
be  amused  rather  than  edified,  the  length  of  many  of  Galdos' 
books  has  been  severely  criticised.  Public 
''  Episodios^  opinion  seems  to  say :  "  We  have  no  patience 
with  so  much  reading ;  who  would  think 
of  buying  three  or  four  volumes  of  400  pages  each  ? " 
Indeed,  as  Emilia  Pardo  Bazan  has  aptly  put  it,  it  appeared 
as  though  the  works  of  Galdos  were  judged  by  weight, 
like  the  souls  of  the  ancient  Egyptians !  Certainly  his 
earliest  writings,  the  famous  "  Episodios  Nacionales,"  might 
with  some  reason  be  objected  to  on  the  score  of  length, 
since  they  comprise  four  series,  each  containing  ten  volumes. 
These  "  Episodios,"  in  which  there  is  more  knowledge  to 
be  gleaned  than  in  many  histories,  represent  the  national 
story  of  Spain,  from  Trafalgar  to  the  Revolution  of  1868,  in 
the  form  of  novels  in  which  about  500  characters  are  intro- 
duced. They  are  absolutely  accurate  studies  of  various 
historic  episodes  in  which,  besides  the  real  personages  of  the 
period,  a  number  of  fictitious  characters  are  introduced  to 
give  material  for  a  plot. 

These  "  Episodios  "  are  aU  animated  by  that  intense  spirit 
of  patriotism  which  is  so  characteristic  of  Galdos.  He  has 
always  sought  to  fix  upon  his  canvas  the  real  and  essential 
values  of  the  struggle  between  traditions  and  the  new  ideas 
with  which  Spain  is  overrun.  He  has  sought  not  only  to 
define  the  exact  limits  of  the  conflict,  but  to  search  for  a  real 
solution  to  the  problem :    a   solution  which  would    surely 


44  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

advance  the  welfare  of  Spain.  Although  Galdos  is  a  Liberal, 
he  has  never  considered  himself  bound  to  follow  blindly  any 
one  political  party.  He  has  never  been  carried  away  by  the 
intemperance  of  Chauvinism,  and  he  has,  in  his  books  and 
dramas,  repeatedly  held  up  to  ridicule  the  quixotic  vapourings 
of  supposed  patriots  who,  blinded  by  exalted  aspirations,  give 
no  thought  to  the  real  needs  of  the  country. 

Of  the  many  questions  which  agitate  contemporary  Spain 
there  are  three  of  paramount  importance.  The  question  of 
religion,  the  question  of  economics,  and  that  of  politics. 

When  we  reaUse  that  it  is  with  these  three  great  questions 

that    Galdos   chiefly,   almost   entirely,   concerns   himself   in 

his   books   and   plays,    we    find   it   easy   to 

Religion.        appreciate     the     importance    of     the    task 

Economics.         i.i  j.       -u-  ^t       j.  t    r.  J 

Politics.  "^  "^^  ^^^  hunself  to  accomplish,  and 
the  keen  interest  with  which  his  literary 
career  is  followed  in  Spain. 

This  writer's  attitude  towards  religious  problems  has  drawn 
forth  repeated  attacks  :  often  from  the  very  people  whose 
ideas  he  is  defending.  The  storm  which  was  raised  over  the 
famous  play,  "  Electra,"  in  France  as  well  as  in  Spain,  proves 
that  the  large  majority  of  persons  entirely  misunderstood 
Galdos'  attitude  towards  religion.  This  play,  which  was 
considered  by  the  anti-clerical  party  to  be  an  absolute  vindica- 
tion of  their  theories,  was  written  by  a  man  who  keenly 
sympathises  with  all  that  is  best  in  the  Catholic  religion.  He 
has  no  desire  to  weaken  the  influence  of  the  Church  :  he  aims 
only  at  the  Hmitation  of  the  Church's  influence  on  politics. 
He  would  check  the  growth  of  monasticism,  and  he  is  certainly 
the  enemy  of  the  Jesuit  Order,  though  he  upholds  the 
Augustinians  and  Carmelites,  whose  mission  is  wholly  one  of 
charity. 

Moderate  views  are  very  liable  to  misconstruction  in  a 
country  where  extreme  opinions  run  wild,  and  "  Angel 
Guerra,"  Galdos'  finest  novel,  added  fuel  to  an  already  flaming 
fire  of  criticism.     This  wonderful  novel  is  based  upon  political 


Modern  Literature  45 

as  well  as  religious  problems,  and  it  has  been  favourably 
compared  with  the  finest  works  of  Tolstoy.  Angel  Guerra, 
the  hero  of  this  book,  is  a  man  of  strong  political  views  and  an 
ardent  republican.  At  the  same  time  he  is  an  idealist  and  a 
man  of  quick  impulses :  his  impressions  and  emotions  sway  him, 
but  he  clings  tenaciously  to  what  he  feels  to  be  "  the  right." 

Guerra's  religious  views  were  what  may  be  considered  as 
broad,  and  they  were  combated  on  every  point  by  his  mother's 
rigid  and  narrow  Catholicism.  To  her  his  projects  for  the 
advancement  of  his  country  savoured  of  criminal  lunacy. 

This  mother  and  son  embody  the  perpetual  struggle  which 

exists  in  Spain  between  the  old  and  the  new.     Dofia  Sales 

represents  the  ancient  and  established  order 

Ind  ?hl  New*^  °^  *^^"&^  ^"^  Guerra  the  new  ideals  which 
so  frequently  dash  themselves  against  the 
iron  gates  of  Traditions.  Guerra  was  a  widower,  and  the 
death  of  his  mother,  and  later  of  his  daughter,  to  whom 
he  was  passionately  attached,  threw  him  back  upon  himself, 
and  the  latent  mysticism  of  his  nature  impelled  him  to 
seek  to  prostrate  himself  before  a  superior  will  and  to  ask 
of  it  help  in  his  hour  of  great  need.  He  feels  to  the  depth  of 
his  soul  the  necessity  for  rehgion  :  he  longs  for  direct  spiritual 
guidance,  but  finds  himself  adrift  on  a  sea  of  uncertainty.  He 
has  become  disillusioned  with  his  political  party  :  he  perceives 
that  its  aims  are,  very  often,  unworthy  and  its  methods 
corrupt.  Chaos  seems  to  surround  him.  In  this  condition 
he  accepts  with  rapture  the  advice  and  guidance  of  a  young 
girl  who  has  been  the  companion  of  his  mother  and  of  his 
daughter.  This  young  girl,  Lorenza,  had  preserved  through 
a  humble  and  unhappy  childhood  a  singularly  pure  spirit  of 
exalted  mysticism,  and  on  the  death  of  Dofia  Sales,  her  patron, 
she  took  the  resolution  to  become  a  nun.  The  influence 
gradually  exercised  by  this  girl  over  Guerra  is  indicated  with 
power  and  delicacy.  She  feels  it  to  be  her  mission  to  draw 
him  towards  a  purely  religious  life,  and  he,  on  his  side,  imagines 
that  her  influence  over  him  is  entirely  spiritual.    He  learns  to 


46  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

lean  on  her  advice  and  guidance  and  combats  the  idea  of 
losing  her  behind  the  gates  of  a  convent.  This  part  of  the 
story  is  full  of  interest,  and  the  word  picture  of  the  spiritual 
friendship  between  Lorenza  and  Angel  is  one  of  the  best 
things  Galdos  has  ever  done.  It  is  impossible  to  go  further 
into  detail,  but  the  hour  comes  when,  prompted  by  the  fervent 
wishes  of  Lorenza,  Guerra  becomes  convinced  that  he  has  a 
true  vocation  for  religion,  and  he  determines  to  become  a 
priest.  With  his  whole  strength  he  desires  to  prove  himself 
worthy  to  tread  in  the  footsteps  of  saints  and  martyrs,  but 
Nature  suddenly  asserts  herself.  Watching  in  a  sick  room,  by 
the  side  of  the  saintly  Lorenza,  he  discovers,  in  a  single 
moment,  that  he  has  utterly  mistaken  his  own  emotions.  He 
realises  that  he  loves  the  woman  with  a  passionate  human 
love.  He  had  dreamed  of  a  spiritual  communion  of  souls, 
and  he  awakens  to  find  himself  longing  for  possession  of  the 
adored  body. 

A  period  of  terrible  anguish  follows  this  awakening,  but  in 
the  end  he  finds  it  possible  to  rest  contented  in  the  arms  of 
religion.  He  had  mistaken  the  way,  for  him,  when  he  had 
imagined  that  he  was  fitted  to  become  a  priest,  but  none  the 
less  surely  he  realised,  on  his  death-bed,  that  in  religion  alone 
is  to  be  found  perfect  content. 

WTien  "  Angel  Guerra  "  was  first  published  a  crowd  of  critics 
announced  that  Galdos  had  once  more  held  up  to  ridicule  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  Indignant  expostulations  rained  on 
the  author  from  every  side,  but  he  remained  quite  unmoved. 
His  motives  had  again  been  misconstrued,  but  what  of  that  ? 
He  was  accustomed  to  it  ! 

In  another  chapter  I  shall  have  occasion  to  discuss  Galdos' 

plays  at  some  length,  since  they  represent  the  ideas  and  ideals 

of  the  most  interesting  dramatist  in  Spain  of 

"^o'f  Gddosf^^'  to-day.     In  his  plays  this  uTiter  goes  deeply 

into  questions  of  moral  analysis  :    in  them 

he  depicts  Spain  as  she  is,  not  as  she  was,  and  his  studies 

of   Spain   actual   draw   from  him   no    useless   lamentations 


Modern  Literature  47 

over  a  glorious  past,  now  disappearing  from  view,  but  instead 
they  draw  forth  fervent  desires  for  a  regeneration  of  the 
present.  Galdos  has  always  been  sincerely  convinced  that 
the  book  and  the  drama  are  only  separated  by  a  superficial 
barrier,  and  most  of  his  plays  have  also  appeared  in  book  form. 
It  must,  however,  be  admitted  that,  in  some  cases,  the  books 
are  superior  to  the  plays  :  some  of  his  works  have  suffered 
considerably  from  the  changes  and  modifications  necessary 
from  the  dramatic  point  of  view,  and  this  was  specially  true 
in  the  case  of  "  Dofia  Perfecta,"  which  in  book  form  has  been 
translated  into  almost  all  the  European  languages,  and  which 
is  very  well  known  in  England. 

"  Dofia  Perfecta  "  deals  on  broad  lines  with  the  religious 
question,  and  the  problem  posed  is  a  far  deeper  one  than 
the  mere  struggle  of  a  rather  bigoted  aunt  against  the 
advanced  views  of  her  nephew.  As  Pepe  Rey  himself  says  : 
"  Behind  us  there  is  a  terrific  struggle  of  principles  against 
principles." 

In  "  Dofia  Perfecta"  the  leading  theme  is  the  new  spirit  of 
modernism  in  Spain  engaged  in  perpetual  combat  with  the 
old  traditions.  Pepe  Rey,  the  lover  of  Dofia  Perfecta's 
daughter,  is  the  forerunner  of  Maximo  Yuste,  the  hero  of 
"  Electra."  Both  of  them,  though  by  no  means  sceptical  in 
religious  matters,  are  charged  with  the  mission  of  carrying 
the  standard  of  enlightenment  into  a  field  hitherto  obscured 
by  superstition.  In  the  drama  much  is  necessarily  lost :  for 
instance,  the  beautiful  descriptions  of  Spanish  scenery  with 
which  the  book  is  full.  Of  one  of  Galdos'  most  recent  works, 
"  El  Abuelo,"  I  shall  speak  in  the  chapter  on  Plays  and 
Players  :  it  was  first  published  in  book  form,  but  it  became 
the  great  dramatic  sensation  of  Madrid  in  1905. 

Perez  Galdos  at  present  lives  in  a  charming  house,  specially 
built  for  him  at  Santander,  in  which  town  his  friend  Pereda 
once  lived.  In  his  library,  over  the  mantelpiece,  there  is 
an  escutcheon  which  displays  the  National  Lion  in  an 
attitude  of  vivid   defiance,   and  underneath  is  this  motto 


48  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

— which  also  appears  on  the  frontispiece  of  his  books : 
"  Ars-Natura- Veritas." 

It  dftes  not  require  much  imagination  to  draw  the  conclusion 
that  Galdos  regards  these  emblems  as  a  sjonbol  of  the  means 
necessary  for  the  redemption  of  modem  Spain. 

Perez  Galdos  is  a  great  lover  of  pottery  and  porcelain,  and 
he  possesses  many  rare  specimens  of  Stratford-on-Avon  and 
Delft  ware.  He  is  not  an  amateur  of  antiquities,  and  his 
walls  are  hung  with  fine  works  of  modern  Spanish  painters 
and  with  sketches  and  etchings  by  Sala,  Melida,  and  Apeles 
Mestres. 

Among  the  favourite  books  which  find  a  place  in  this  library 
are  the  complete  works  of  Dickens,  and  there  is  a  dainty  little 
bookcase  containing  a  miniature  edition  of  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
which  was  presented  by  his  admirers  on  the  occasion  of  a 
banquet  given  in  honour  of  the  author  of  "  Electra." 

The  most  notable  and  accomplished  Spanish  critic  of  to-day 

is  Marcelino  Men6ndez  y  Pelayo.     This  writer  has  already 

produced  a  number  of  important  works,  and 

Marcelino       j^g  [^  ^^  present  engaged  in  editing  a  complete 

y  Pelayo.        edition  of  the  writings  of  Lope  de  Vega.     He 

is  a  man  of  extraordinary  learning,  and  as  a 

literary  historian  he  occupies  a  unique  position.     Spain  was 

not  very  rich  in  literary  historians  in  the  nineteenth  century, 

but  Seiior  Men^ndez  y  Pelayo  has  aroused  renewed  interest 

in  this  important  direction  and,  under  his  guidance,  a  serious 

school  of  criticism  has  taken  form  in  Spain. 

Of  the  Obras  of  Lope  de  Vega — now  being  printed  under  the 
editorship  of  Don  Marcelino — only  eight  quartos  are  as  yet 
ready,  but  these  are  invaluable  to  students  of  the  amazing 
genius  who  has  been  well  described  as  "  a  very  prodigy  of 
nature."  Amongst  the  more  notable  works  of  Don  Marcelino 
are  the  "  Historia  de  las  Ideas  Estdticas  en  Espaiia,"  which 
treats  of  literature  at  many  points  and  which  is  full  of  learned 
and  suggestive  reflections  :  "  Calderon  y  su  Teatro,"  an  ample 
and  impartial  criticism  of  the  genius  of  Pedro  Calderon  de  la 


Modern  Literature  49 

Barca  Henao  de  la  Barreda  y  Riano — the  most  representative 
Spaniard  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  dramatic  works  of  Calderon  have  been  described  and 
criticised  again  and  again,  but  no  critic  has  so  thoroughly 
exhausted  his  merits  and  demerits  as  has  Senor  Menendez  y 
Pelayo  in  the  volume  just  mentioned.  These  criticisms  were 
originally  delivered  in  lecture  form,  and  they  are  so  clearly 
and  graphically  expressed  that  they  make  very  interesting 
reading  for  even  those  who  know  little  of  Calderon  or  his 
times. 

Amongst  the  many  other  works  of  this  writer  are  "  Historia 
de  los  Heterodoxos  Espanoles,"  "  Ciencia  Espafiola,"  and 
"  Odas,  Epistolas  y  Tragedias,"  the  latter  volume  containing 
a  remarkably  good  version  of  "  The  Isles  of  Greece." 

In  serious  literary  circles  in  Spain  the  criticisms  of  Senor 
Men6ndez  y  Pelayo  are  invariably  accepted  as  the  final  word. 

In  speaking  of  this  powerful  writer — who  uses  the 
psuedonym  of  "  Clarin  " — Fitzmaurice  Kelly  says  :  "  In  all 
the  length  and  breadth  of  Spain  no  writer 
Leopoldo  Alas,  is  better  known  and  more  feared  than 
Leopold©  Alas.  Alas  is  often  accused  of 
fierce  intolerance  as  a  critic :  and  the  charge  has  this 
much  truth  in  it — that  he  is  righteously,  splendidly  intolerant 
of  a  pretender,  a  mountebank,  or  a  dullard.  He  may  be  right 
or  wrong  in  judgment ;  but  there  is  something  noble  in  the 
intrepidity  with  which  he  handles  an  established  repu- 
tation, in  the  infinite  malice  with  which  he  riddles  an 
enemy." 

It  is  certainly  true  that  "  Clarin  "  was  a  fearless  critic — a 
veritable  gladiator  in  the  arena  of  journalism — but  then  he 
was  a  man  of  wide  learning  and  of  cultured  taste  :  he  was 
acquainted  with  the  literature  of  France,  Germany,  and  other 
countries,  and — he  stood  in  awe  of  no  man  ! 

It  is  as  a  critic  that  Leopoldo  Alas  is  best  known  to  the 
general  public,  but  he  also  was  a  novelist  of  great  distinction. 
His  "  La  Regenta,"  published  in  1885,  is  a  masterly  work  : 


50  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

full  of  subtle  and  searching  analysis  and  conceived  on  bold 
lines.  Since  then  he  was  the  author  of  several  other  novels 
and  a  remarkable  volume  of  short  stories,  entitled 
"  Pipa." 

Pereda  is  a  writer  who  must,  of  necessity,  be  placed  among 

the  realists  of  Spain,  although  his  realism  is  of  a  very  different 

order  from  that  of  Blasco  Ibafiez  and  Juan 

de%eS*      Ochoa,  of  whom  I  shall  presently  speak.     The 

realistic  school  of  writing  in  Spain  has  many 

branches  :    Blasco  Ibanez  adheres  closely  to  the  dramatic 

style  of  Zola  and  Maupassant,  Ochoa  is  a  master  of  the  subtle 

interpretation  of  home-life  in  the  provinces,  while  Pereda — 

a  dweller  in  the  country  by  choice — has  almost  invariably 

chosen  as  a  background  the  rugged  mountains  and  restless 

seas  of  his  native  town  of  Santander.     Pereda  is,  perhaps,  best 

described  by  the  Spanish  word  "  costumbrista  "  ! 

He  was  born  with  an  intense  love  for  his  own  province  and 
a  sympathetic  understanding  of  his  own  people.  In  his  books 
the  poor  inhabitants  of  remote  mountain  villages,  the  fishing 
folk  of  the  Cantabrian  coast,  and  the  small  social  circles 
common  to  all  provincial  towns,  are  portrayed  by  the  hand 
of  a  writer  who  intimately  knows  them. 

Dona  Emilia  Pardo  Bazan,  a  great  friend  and  admirer  of 
Pereda,  has  said  of  him  that  "  if  not  the  most  [realistic  of 
Spanish  writers,  certainly  he  is  the  least  idealistic." 

He  is  in  every  respect  unlike  his  compatriot  Galdos  who, 
while  seeking  truthfully  to  portray  what  exists,  still  sees  life 
as  it  were  through  a  microscope,  discovering  marvels  which 
are  non-existent  to  an  ordinary  observer. 

Pereda  is  possessed  of  no  such  acute  inner-vision  :  his  point 
of  view  is  that  of  a  well-balanced  mind  delineating  faithfully 
what  it  sees  :  his  is  the  realism  of  the  old  classic  school : 
less  profound,  perhaps,  but  more  reposeful  than  the  realistic 
school  of  to-day.  He  does  not  interrogate  life — he  portrays 
it,  just  as  it  is :  his  phrases  are  always  correct,  always 
expressive,  always  energetic,  and  without  exaggeration. 


Modern  Literature  51 

To  quote  again  some  words  of  Emilia  Pardo  Bazan  :  "  The 

rhetoric  of  Pereda  is  the  rhetoric  of  common  sense  illuminated 

by    art."     This   author's   writings    may    be 

"^^f  P^  r^da"*^    roughly  divided  into  two  classes  :    his  earher 
works,  which  were   entirely  limited   by  the 
horizon  of  Santander,  and  his  later  works  in  which,  begin- 
ning with  Pedro  Sanchez,  he  has  sought,  and  not  always  with 
complete  success,  to  extend  his  field  of  labour. 

In  the  earl)^  writings  the  most  notable  defect  is  that  the 
characters  are,  to  a  very  large  extent,  smothered  by  their 
surroundings.  These  superb  pictures  of  wild  seas,  towering 
mountains  and  wind-swept  coasts  seem,  by  reason  of  their 
immensity,  to  dwarf  the  actors  in  the  story.  However,  it 
was  to  these  really  fine  descriptions  of  scenery  that  Pereda 
owed  his  first  and  greatest  successes. 

Of  this  early  phase  the  best  works  are  "  El  Buey  Suelto," 
"  Don  Gonzalo  Gonzales  de  la  Gonzalera,"  and  "  De  tal  palo 
tal  astilla." 

The  "  Buey  Suelto  "  is  a  work  in  which  the  moral  is  some- 
what too  obviously  insisted  upon  to  please  present-day  readers. 
In  it  the  question  of  marriage  versus  celibacy  is  treated  at 
length,  and  the  ponderous  arguments  advanced  in  favour  of 
the  former  state  are  not  very  convincing  to  students  of  Tolstoy, 
Flaubert,  and  other  writers  who  have  treated  this  subject 
with  so  much  understanding  and  brilliancy. 

"  De  tal  palo  tal  astilla  "  brings  to  light  once  more  the 
question,  apparently  perennial  in  Spain,  of  Faith  versus 
free-thought.  The  heroine  is  a  young  girl,  brought  up  in  a 
strictly  religious  atmosphere,  who  is  engaged  to  be  married 
to  an  atheist.  Fanaticism  is  the  central  motif  of  the  story, 
and  religion  and  pohtics  loom  large. 

To  the  first  phase  of  Pereda  belongs  also  the  exquisite 
"  Sabor  de  la  tierruca,"  a  beautiful  work  which,  though 
wanting  in  human  interest,  is  full  of  poetic  descriptions  of 
Cantabrian  scenery. 

To  the  second  period  of  this  writer's  work  belong  two  famous 


52  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

books,  "  Pedro  Sanchez  "  and  "  La  Montalvez."  Here  we 
have  a  complete  change  of  style  ;  a  change  which  originated 
in  Pereda's  desire  to  emerge  from  what  he  has  himself  called 
his  "  huerto  " — or  kitchen  garden. 

"  Pedro  Sanchez  "  is  a  political  novel,  but  of  a  very  different 
order  to  its  predecessor,  "  De  tal  palo  tal  astilla."  The 
two  principal  characters,  Pedro  Sanchez  and 
^  Nover^'  Augustin  Valenzuela,  are  both  engaged  in 
politics,  the  former  belonging  to  a  rustic 
community  in  the  north  of  Spain,  and  Valenzuela  having 
for  his  sphere  of  action  the  entangled  and  complicated 
political  world  of  Madrid.  The  beauty  of  this  book  is 
embraced  in  its  purity  of  stj^'le  and  in  the  masterly  manner  in 
which  the  interest  is  developed  and  made  to  culminate  in  the 
final  chapter.  The  dialogue  in  this  particular  story  is  more 
than  a  little  stiff  and  ornate  :  Pereda's  examples  of  conversa- 
tion at  a  "  tertulia  " — a  gathering  of  friends — are  constrained, 
to  say  the  least  !  But  this  defect,  even  when  added  to  the 
fact  that  Pereda  is  almost  always  more  successful  when  dealing 
with  men  than  with  women,  does  not  take  away  from  the 
certainty  that  "  Pedro  Sanchez  "  is  one  of  the  finest  of  modern 
Spanish  novels  :    it  is,  in  its  own  way,  a  masterpiece. 

With  regard  to  "  La  Montalvez  "  there  was,  at  time  of  publi- 
cation, a  great  diversity  of  opinion.  It  was  unfortunate  for 
Pereda  that  this  book  should  have  followed  the  famous 
"  Pequefieces  "  of  Padre  Coloma. 

Comparisons  were  inevitable,  as  both  books  were  satires  on 
the  doings  of  fashionable  personages  in  society  :  critics  were 
not  wanting  who  loudly  eisserted  that  Pereda  had  borrowed 
from  "  Pequeiieces  "  a  superficial  brilliancy  of  style,  without 
being  able  to  penetrate  into  the  heart  of  the  social  whirlpool 
as  the  Padre  had  done. 

Pereda  Uves  in  the  provinces  from  choice,  and  sincerely 
dislikes  the  gay  life  of  big  cities  ;  for  these  reasons  it  is  easy 
to  understand  why  this  particular  venture — with  his  pen — 
was  not  wholly  successful. 


Modern  Literature  53 

One  of  Pereda's  recent  works,  "  Sotileza,"  deals  chiefly  with 
hfe  amongst  the  fishing  population  of  Santander.  It  is  a 
notable  novel,  from  every  point  of  view,  and  everyone  should 
read  it,  if  only  because  of  its  wonderful  final  chapter,  in  which 
is  embodied  a  most  dramatic  account  of  the  return  of  a  fleet 
of  fishing  boats  after  a  terrific  storm. 

At  the  head  of  the  Spanish  Zolaistic  school  must  be  placed 

Vicente  Blasco  Ibafiez.     He  is  one  of  many,  for  in  the  Spanish 

soil  realists  thrive  and  expand  with  incredible 

Bla  co^^Ibanez    ^^cility,  but  he  is  head  and  shoulders  over  his 

fellows.     A  strangely  turbulent  personage  is 

this  virile  son  of  Valencia.     A  red-hot  republican   who   in 

early  youth  determined  to  fight  tooth  and  nail  for  what  he 

considered  to  be  his  rights  and  those  of  his  countrymen.     His 

life  has  been  so  full  of  adventures,  and  these  of  an  amazing 

character,  that  to  the  ordinary  imagination  he  seems  like  a 

latter-day  d'Artagnan  ! 

Blasco  Ibanez'  sympathies  have  always  been  with  the  people, 
and  he  writes  of  them,  frequently  of  the  poorest  and  least 
reputable,  in  a  comprehensive  and  illuminative  manner. 
Nothing  is  hidden  or  glozed  over,  but  the  writings  betray  an 
insight  into  human  nature  which  is  as  admirable  as  it  is  rare. 
It  is  evident  that  at  the  beginning  of  his  career  as  a  writer  he 
was  influenced  by  Guy  de  Maupassant,  though  from  the  first 
a  resonant  individual  note  made  itself  felt.  "  Cuentos 
Valencianos  " — a  remarkable  collection  of  short  stories — first 
appeared  in  El  Pueblo — a  newspaper  founded,  edited,  and, 
it  may  be  said,  written  by  Ibafiez. 

In  these  "  Cuentos  "  the  influence  of  Flaubert's  famous  pupil 

is  especially  evident.     Some  of  them  seem  too  frankly  like 

echoes  to  possess  serious  interest,  but  others 

MfupTsslrS!     ^^^    g^"^^    o^    realistic  art.     "  Dimoni,"  for 

example  :   a  few  pages  from  the  life  of  two 

utterly   disreputable   creatures,  a  man  and  a  woman,  both 

drunkards.     The    realistic   description    of  their    manner    of 

existence    and    of    La    Boracha's    personal    appearance    is 

5— (2399) 


54  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

abnost  appalling.  The  woman  died  when  her  child  was  born, 
and  one's  imagination  is  haunted  by  the  quivering  notes  of 
Dimoni's  "  dulzaina,"  which  he  played  as  he  wandered  into 
the  Uttle  country  churchyard  at  nightfall  and,  still  drunk, 
sought  out  the  last  resting-place  of  the  woman  who  had 
never  been  his  wife. 

The  villagers  peered  through  the  darkness  and  called  aloud, 
but  while  they  were  there  the  "  dulzaina "  never  spoke. 
Later  on,  "  when  the  steps  had  died  away,  when  the  silence 
of  night  reigned  once  more  over  the  immense  plain,  the  music 
broke  out  again,  sad  as  a  lament ;  like  the  distant  weeping 
of  a  child  for  the  mother  who  would  never  return."  (This  is 
a  free  translation  of  the  final  words  of  the  little  story.) 

A  very  amusing  "  Cuento  "  in  the  same  volume  is  "La 
Cencerrada."  This  story  is  in  the  style  of  Maupassant,  and 
its  realism  is  alarmingly  frank,  but  the  idea  is  a  very  comical 
one  and  Blasco  Ibafiez  has  done  it  justice.  It  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  "  La  Cencerrada  "  means  a  noise  with  bells  and  horns 
made  before  the  door  of  an  elderly  bridegroom  on  the  night  of 
his  marriage  !  One  of  the  early  novels  of  this  writer  remains 
one  of  his  finest  works.  "  Flor  de  Mayo  "  is  a  perfect  piece  of 
realistic  writing.  I  do  not  think  Blasco  Ibanez  ever  felt 
inclined  to  copy  Zola,  much  as  he  must  have  admired  him  : 
very  early  in  his  career  he  entered  into  his  own  kingdom,  well 
armed  with  weapons  which  were  entirely  individual  ;  never- 
theless, he  must  have  studied  the  methods  of  the  French 
school  very  closely. 

In  the  early  pages  of  "  Flor  de  Mayo  "  there  is  a  description 

of  a  fish  market  which  recalls,  by  reason  of  its  effect  on  the 

olfactory  nerves,  a  famous  picture  of  a  pork 

A  Masterpiece  !  butcher's  shop,  by  Zola.  These  two  descrip- 
tions are  unlike  in  style,  but  just  as  Zola 
was  able  to  impregnate  the  air  with  fat  pork  so  Ibanez 
envelopes  the  readers  of  "  Flor  de  Mayo  "  in  the  smell  of  fish  ! 
It  seems  impossible  to  get  away  from  the  penetrating  odour, 
even  after  the  chapter  has  been  finished  and  the  pages  turned 


Modern  Literature  55 

over.     In  this  work  life  in  Valencia  amongst  the  fishing  folks 
is  admirably  depicted. 

All  through  the  book  characters  and  scenery  are  painted 
with  masterly  skill.  The  story  is  a  simple  one,  but  sufficiently 
tragic. 

Pascual — called  El  Retor — and  Tonet  are  brothers  :  fisher- 
men and  the  sons  of  an  old  woman  who  makes  her  home  of  a 
boat  in  which  her  husband  was  wrecked,  and  in  which  his  dead 
body  was  washed  up  on  the  shore.  El  Retor  is  married  to  a 
beautiful  woman,  Dolores,  whom  his  brother  has  long  loved. 
All  the  world  knows  that  Dolores  has  not  been  faithful  to 
her  husband,  but  Pascual  lives  in  complete  and  contented 
ignorance. 

The  brothers  are  given  an  opportunity  of  making  a  good 
deal  of  money  by  smuggling  tobacco  into  Algiers,  and  as 
Pascual  is  anxious  to  possess  a  fine  fishing-boat  of  his  own, 
he  takes  chances  and  they  visit  the  African  coast. 

A  luminous  word-picture  is  given  of  Algiers,  seen  by  night, 
from  the  sea. 

All  goes  well,  and  the  boat — the  Flor  de  Mayo — is  built 
and  made  ready  for  sea.  The  description  of  the  baptism  of 
this  boat  is  so  graphic  that  I  wish  it  were  possible  to  give  it 
in  full.  All  the  village  turns  out  for  the  ceremony,  and  El 
Retor  himself  is  described  as  looking  like  an  English  yacht 
owner,  in  his  new  suit  of  navy  serge.  His  cup  of  happiness 
is  full  to  overflowing,  but  suddenly  it  is  dashed  from  his  lips. 
Rosario,  the  wife  of  Tonet,  can  no  longer  contain  her  jealousy, 
and  in  a  moment  of  impotent  rage  she  tells  Pascual  that  his 
wife  has  been  unfaithful  to  him  ;  that  the  little  boy  he  so 
dearly  loves  is  not  his  own  son  but  that  Tonet  is  the  father. 
For  a  time  Pascual  refuses  to  believe  the  horrible  thing,  but 
in  the  end  he  realises  that  it  must  be  true  and  he  becomes 
possessed  with  a  longing  for  revenge.  He  says  nothing,  either 
to  his  wife  or  to  his  brother,  but  notwithstanding  the  fierce 
storm  that  is  rising  he  insists  on  going  to  sea  at  once.  The 
old  mother  prays  and  entreats  of  him  to  wait,  but  he  pays 


56  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

no  heed  :  worse  still,  he  determines  to  take  the  child  Pascualet 
as  cabin-boy. 

The  description  of  the  storm  at  sea  is  superb  :  one  of  the 
finest  word-pictures  I  have  ever  read. 

The  distracted  women  are  waiting  on  the  shore,  for  they 
can  see  the  wi-eck  without  being  able  to  give  assistance.  On 
the  deck  of  the  Flor  de  Mayo  Pascual  realises  that  his  revenge 
has  succeeded  beyond  his  wildest  hopes  :  his  brother  is  doomed 
and  so  is  the  child.  But  then,  at  the  very  last,  his  love  for 
the  boy  prevails  ;  he  fastens  him  to  the  only  life-belt  on  the 
ship  and  casts  him  off  towards  the  shore. 

And  by  and  by  a  little  lifeless  body,  covered  with  blood  and 
disfigured  by  blows  from  spars  and  broken  timbers,  is  washed 
up  on  the  beach,  at  the  feet  of  the  grandmother,  at  the  feet 
of  the  faithless  wife  and  of  the  woman  whose  jealous  words  had 
brought  about  the  disaster. 

Blasco  Ibafiez  has  written  many  novels  since  "  Flor  de 
Mayo."  Of  these  "  La  Barraca  " — which  has  been  translated 
into  French  under  the  title  "  Terre  Maudite  " — is  one  of  the 
best  known  outside  Spain.  I  have  not  space  to  speak  of  this 
book  or  of  many  others  of  equal  value  and  interest,  for  a  recent 
work  of  this  author  demands  consideration. 

In  "  Sangre  y  Arena  "  the  Valenciano  is,  I  think,  at  his  best. 

The   picture  of  Andalusia  and  of  the  people   of  southern 

Spain  is  painted  with  a  full  brush  but  with 

"Aperf'^^"'^      inimitable    art.      This    book   belongs   to   the 

soil    of    Andalusia,    and    so   much   of   it   is 

written  in  the  soft  southern  patois  that  it  would  be  impossible 

to  translate  it.     Besides,  the  subject  of  the  book  would  not 

interest  the  average  foreigner.     The  hero  is  Juan  Gallardo, 

a  famous  bull-fighter,  and  everything  connected  with  his  life 

and  profession  is  dealt  with  in  a  frankly  reaUstic  manner. 

His  mode  of  life,  his  successes,  his  failures,  his  affaires  de 

cxur,    his   healthy    and    unabashed    vanity :     everything    is 

minutely  described.     We  are  shown  how  a  successful  torero 

may  live  and  how — very  probably — he  may  die. 


Modern  Literature  57 

The  closing  chapter  of  Gallardo's  hfe  is  full  of  subtle 
restraint.  In  congratulating  Blasco  Ibaiiez  on  this  scene  the 
words,  "  qui  ne  sut  se  homer,  ne  sut  jamais  ecrire,"  suggest 
themselves. 

If  he  had  not  known  how  to  "keep  within  bounds"  he 
might  so  easily  have  written  just  the  one  phrase  too  much. 
Gallardo's  wife  is  praying  in  a  church  close  to  the  Plaza  de 
Tows.  A  beautiful  v/oman,  aristocratic  and  insolent,  whom 
the  torero  had  loved,  was  seated  in  a  palco  when  the  fatal  gore 
was  given.  All  the  "  stars  "  were  within  easy  call,  but  the 
author  of  "  Sangre  y  Arena,"  proved  himself  a  true  artist. 
Nothing  was  required  but  a  bare  statement  of  facts,  and 
nothing  more  was  given.  The  torero  never  spoke  after  he 
was  carried  from  the  arena,  and  El  Nacional,  his  favourite 
handerillero,  learned  the  truth  in  a  single  sentence,  spoken  by 
the  doctor.  "  Se  acabo,  Sebastian  Puedes  huscarte  otro 
matador."  ("  It  is  finished,  Sebastian.  You  can  look  for 
another  matador.")  One  special  point  connected  with  the 
writings  of  Blasco  Ibaiiez  has  impressed  me  very  much,  and 
it  is  this  :  He  is  a  man  of  marked  individuality,  of  strong 
emotions,  of  masterful  nature,  and  yet  his  writings  are  most 
curiously  impersonal.  You  may  study  them  closely.  You 
may  turn  the  phrases  this  way  or  that,  but  you  will  not  easily 
find  one  single  trace  of  the  man  himself,  of  his  own  thoughts 
or  feelings.  And  this  is  one  of  my  reasons  for  placing  him 
at  the  head  of  the  realists  of  to-day,  without  reservations  as 
to  nationahty. 

The  man  is  not  a  true  realist  who  cannot  set  aside  his 
personal  likes  and  dislikes.  Realism  is  not  what  any  one 
person  feels,  on  this  subject  or  that  :  it  is  not 
A  True  Realist,  even  the  piling  up  of  hard  facts  and  details. 
It  is  the  picture  of  life  as  it  actually  is. 
All  the  values  true.  Sunshine  holding  a  position  equal — if 
necessary — to  that  of  shadow.  A  realist  should  not  attempt 
to  be  a  teacher.  Neither  should  he  introduce  his  own  indi- 
vidual views  of  life,  except  on  an  occasion,  and  this  would 


58  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

rarely  present  itself,  when  the  character  depicted  coincided 
exactly  with  his  own. 

In  very  many  of  Zola's  works  the  great  French  master  has 
proved  himself  an  incomparable  realist,  but  towards  the  end  of 
his  career  his  method  seemed  to  have  undergone  a  subtle  change. 
This  is  specially  evident  in  his  famous  trilogy — "  Paris  " : 
"Lourdes":  "Rome."  In  the  latter  work,  for  example, 
he  introduces  impossible  situations  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
voice  to  thoughts  and  ideas  which  were  evidently  personal. 

The  "  Abbe  Froment  "  is  a  wonderful  character.  True  to 
life  in  thought,  in  so  far  as  that  many  priests  of  the  present 
day  hold  just  such  ideas,  but  absolutely  untrue  to  life  in 
action,  since  no  priest  possessed  of  such  keen  intelligence  could, 
for  a  single  moment,  have  supposed  that  tlie  Holy  Father 
would  receive  with  acclamation  the  idea  of  a  "  New  Religion  " 
and  a  "  New  Rome."  Still  more  untrue  to  life  is  the  supposi- 
tion that  a  cardinal  could,  or  would,  have  written  a  preface 
for  a  book  bearing  such  a  title  and  advised  the  writer  of  it  to 
go  and  lay  his  ideas  at  the  feet  of  the  Holy  Father,  Such 
priests  and  cardinals  may  be  ideal :  that  is  a  matter  of 
individual  opinion  :    but  emphatically  they  are  not  real. 

I  mention  the  case  of  "  Abbe  Froment  "  because  it  indicates 
what  we  do  not  find  in  the  works  of  Blasco  Ibaiiez.  So  far, 
he  has  proved  himself  an  uncompromising  realist,  whose 
perception  of  balance  is  singularly  correct.  An  account  of 
the  adventures  of  this  writer  would  fill  a  thick  volume.  When 
only  a  young  lad  he  wrote  a  poem  which  brought  him  into 
serious  trouble  on  a  question  of  lese  Majeste,  and  he  was 
imprisoned  for  six  months.  Later  on,  his  republican  views 
and  speeches  made  him  a  marked  man,  and  on  one  occasion 
he  escaped  by  a  mere  chance  and  crossed  the  greater  part  of 
Spain  on  foot. 

On  another  occasion  he  had  to  escape  by  sea,  and  this  time 
he  visited  Italy  and  found  subject  matter  for  his  "  En  el  Pais 
del  Arte."  Adventure  followed  adventure  in  this  turbulent 
life,  but  Blasco  Ibaiiez  always  found  time  for  study.     He  has 


Modern  Literature  59 

translated  into  Spanish  Michelet's  "  History  of  the  French 
Revolution,"  and  when  it  is  reahsed  that  this  work  runs  into 
three  large  volumes,  it  will  be  seen  that  he  is  a  vehement 
worker  as  well  as  an  ardent  republican. 

The  last  novel  published  by  this  writer — and  it  is  one  which 
is  enjoying  a  great  success — is  called  "  Los  Muertos  Mandan." 
I  have  not  space  to  discuss  this  book,  but  will  just  say  that  it 
contains  some  exquisite  word-paintings  of  the  Balearic 
Islands. 

In  the  midst  of  the  Spanish  school  of  realists  of  a  vivid  and 

bold  type  there  are  a  few  writers,  little  known  outside  Spain, 

who  might  be  described  as  realists  in  a  minor 

Juan  Ochoa.  key.  Or,  to  borrow  from  a  sister  Muse, 
painters  in  half-tone.  Among  these  Juan 
Ochoa  stands  pre-eminent. 

No  Spanish  writer  of  modem  days  so  nearly  approaches 
Dickens  in  the  skilful  delineation  of  simple  home  life,  with  its 
moments  of  infinite  pathos.  His  books  are  not  numerous, 
but  each  is,  in  its  own  way,  a  gem.  His  style  is  singularly 
Hmpid  and  natural,  and  it  is  keenly  appreciated  by  his  own 
countrymen,  who  love,  above  all  things,  simplicity  and 
sincerity,  and  who  are  quick  to  detect  a  note  of  exaggeration 
or  artificiality. 

Ochoa's  finest  work  is  "  Un  Alma  de  Dios,"  which  has,  I 
think,  been  translated  into  Enghsh  ;  but  no  translation  could 
give  any  idea  of  the  beauty  of  the  original  Spanish  :  nor  would 
it  be  easy  for  foreigners  not  knowing  Spain  to  realise 
the  absolute  fidelity  with  which  Ochoa  has  described 
everyday  life  in  a  Spanish  provincial  town. 

Dickens  would  have  rejoiced  over  the  hero  of  "  Un  Alma  de 
Dios,"  an  affectionate  cheerful  creature  who  is  long  unable 
to  realise  that  he  is  being  betrayed,  and  to  whose  simple  nature 
the  final  realisation  brought  no  bitterness  of  feeling,  but  only 
the  conviction  that  the  great  happiness  with  which  he  had 
been  surrounded  must  have  been  more  than  he  deserved,  since 
it  had  been  taken  away  from  him. 


60  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

This  little  volume  abounds  in  poetic  descriptions  of  an 
impressionistic  nature,  in  which  a  whole  scene  is  depicted  in  a 
few  vivid  words.  One  of  these,  a  description  of  a  provincial 
town  silhouetted  against  a  sunset  sky,  is  sufficiently  striking 
to  bear  quotation — 

He  saw  from  the  little  lofty  balcony  the  well-known  panorama 
stretching  before  his  eyes  ;  many  tiled  roofs  blackened  by  smoke,  the 
dark  tower  of  a  church,  two  or  three  pinnacles  and  domes  of  large 
buildings,  and  in  the  sky  a  long  procession  of  clouds  advancing  slowly, 
blown  by  the  wind,  outlined  by  the  bright  rose-coloured  twilight.  In 
the  distance  a  long  line  of  giant  poplars  like  swaying  phantoms  seemed 
to  stretch  out  their  ghostly  arms  to  the  little  town. 

In  these  few  lines  is  embraced  the  sweet  melancholy  of  the 
Spanish  paysage. 

Besides  the  WTiters  of  whom  I  have  spoken  at  some  length, 
there  are  in  Spain  of  to-day  very  many  others.  Notable 
amongst  these  are  Narciso  Oler,  the  Catalan,  and  Salvador 
Rueda,  the  poet  of  Andalusia  :  these  two  writers  are  excellent 
exponents  of  the  purely  Spanish  school. 

Armando  Palacio  Valdes,  whose  most  notable  work  is 
"  Marta  y  Maria,"  has  been  widely  translated  into  foreign 
languages,  and  in  his  own  country  he  is  a  general  favourite, 
but  I  have  not  space  to  speak  of  his  novels  in  detail. 

With  regard  to  Salvador  Rueda,  I  must  just  say  that  his 
impressionistic  pictures  of  life  in  Andalusia,  of  the  sun-swept 
plains  with  their  green  oHve  groves,  are  as  remarkable  in 
their  fidelity  to  Nature  as  are  Pereda's  sea  pictures  of  the 
northern  coast. 

The  French  influence  has  always  made  itself  evident  in 

Spanish  literature,  and  sometimes  it  happens  that  the  blending 

of  French  and  Spanish  ideas  is  productive  of 

Sonie  Effects  of  results    which    are    more    interesting    than 

School.         satisfactory.     I  have  already  spoken  of  the 

influence  of  Guy  de  Maupassant  and  Zola  on 

the  modern  Spanish  school  and  have  pointed  out  how,  as  in 

the  case  of   Blasco  Ibafiez,  this  influence  may  be  used   to 

f-btain  highly  desirable  ends,  but  the  influence  of  what  may 


Modern  Literature  61 

be  called  the  "  decadent  French  school  "  upon  the  younger 
generation  of  Spanish  writers  is  quite  another  affair. 

The  Spanish  have  no  decadent  tendencies  at  all — naturally, 
and  the  effort  to  cultivate  what  is  quite  foreign  to  nature  is 
ever  attended  with  lamentable  results. 

Many  of  the  younger  minor  poets  have  assiduously  culti- 
vated the  ideas  of  Baudelaire,  Catulle  Mendes,  and  Paul 
Verlaine,  but  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  fruit  thus  produced 
is  of  a  thoroughly  unsatisfactory  nature. 

Nothing  is  more  fatal  to  the  Spaniard  than  artificiality. 
The  mental  attitude  of,  for  example,  Paul  Verlaine  and  of 
Baudelaire,  was,  for  them,  natural,  but  when  the  minor  poets 
of  Spain  strive  to  imitate  this  exceedingly  exotic  "  mental 
attitude  "  the  result  is  frankly  deplorable  :  it  is  "  neither 
fish  nor  flesh  nor  good  red  herring  "  ! 


CHAPTER  III 

MODERN   PAINTERS 

Spain  of  to-day  is  rich  in  painters.  Indeed  it  would  not  be 
exaggeration  to  say  very  rich.  It  is  not  easy  to  account  for 
the  fact  that  very  httle,  comparatively,  is 
Painting.  known  of  Spanish  Art  of  the  present  day. 
In  isolated  cases  the  notable  painters  have 
been  discussed  and  criticised  in  print,  and  this  more  especially 
in  England  and  in  America,  but  I  do  not  know  of  any  important 
work  which  treats,  seriously  and  comprehensively,  of  the 
modem  Spanish  painters.  And  yet  they  are  as  interesting  as 
they  are,  in  style,  varied.  The  world  owes  much  to  Spanish 
art  of  times  past.  To  the  exquisite  charm  of  Murillo.  To 
the  sombre  dignity  and  unrivalled  naturalism  of  Velasquez, 
To  the  "  call  of  the  blood  "  of  the  superb  incorrigible  Goya  ! 
For  the  life  and  the  works  of  Goya  are  nothing  less  than  an 
imperious  "  call  "  to  those  in  whose  veins  flow  "  hot  and 
rebellious  liquors  "  ! 

Sevilla  has  good  reason  to  be  proud  of  her  sons — in  the 
world  of  painting  as  of  literature.  Bartolome  Estaban 
Murillo  was  a  sevillano  who  never  quitted  Spain :  who 
remained  to  the  end  the  Spanish  painter  who  was  least  touched 
by  foreign  influences. 

Diego  Rodriguez  de  Silva  y  Velasquez  belonged  entirely  to 
the  Sevilla  school,  though  he  was  by  birth  a  Portuguese, 
And  in  the  present  day  Andalusia  can  boast  of  such  masters 
as  Villegas,  Bilbao,  Carbonero,  and  many  others. 

In  briefly  considering  the  works  of  some  of  the  modern 
Spanish  painters  it  is  necessary  to  look  for  a  moment  into 
the  past  in  order  to  trace,  if  possible,  the  various  sources  from 
which  this  modern  art  has  sprung.  And  three  important 
sources  immediately  present  themselves  :  Velasquez  ;   Goya  ; 


Modern  Painters  63 

the  modern  French  school.  And  of  these  three  the  first  and 
the  third  loom  largest  in  our  horizon. 

The  "  call  "  of  Goya  is  felt  to  be  a  httle  too  primitive  by 
ultra-moderns  who  have  learnt  to  dissect  sensations. 

To  Velasquez — directly  and  indirectly — the  modern 
painters  of  Spain  owe  very  much.  He  was,  and  must  ever 
remain,  the  king  of  naturalistic  painters.  He  painted  what 
he  saw,  as  he  saw  it  :    nothing  more  and  nothing  less. 

The  art  of  Velasquez  was  removed  from  the  art  of  Murillo 
as  are  the  poles.  One  was  a  great  idealist  and  the  other  one 
of  the  greatest  realists  the  world  has  ever  known.  And  in 
painting  what  he  saw,  Velasquez  bowed  before  the  genius  of 
Nature  :  he  accepted  her  dictates  and  never  tried  to  impose 
a  "  second  opinion." 

To  realise  the  pure  realism  of  Velasquez  one  ought  to  study 
very  carefully  his  matchless  "  Las  Meninas  " — which  is  in 
possession  of  a  private  salon  of  its  own  at  the  Prado  Museum. 
In  speaking  of  this  picture  George  Clausen  once  said  :  "It  is, 
I  should  think,  the  greatest  achievement  in  painting  of  true 
ordinary  lighting  in  the  world.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
effect  in  this  picture  is  exactly  as  in  the  room  :  everything 
is  accounted  for  naturally.  It  is  worth  remarking  how  the 
picture  is  arranged — divided  diagonally  into  light  and  shade, 
with  a  strong  dark  on  the  light  side  and  a  little  light  taken 
into  the  dark.  This  is  a  very  effective  arrangement  and  a 
natural  one.  How  beautifully  the  figures  are  proportioned  to 
the  room,  and  how  finely  the  large  dark  empty  space  above 
contrasts  with  the  light  and  sparkle  of  the  figures."  These 
represent  Velasquez  painting  Philip  IV  and  Queen  Marianne, 
with  the  little  Princess  Margaret  in  front,  surrounded  by  her 
master  of  the  ceremonies,  dwarfs,  and  maids  of  honour. 

I  lay  special  stress  on  the  influence  of  Velasquez  on  Spanish 
painters  of  to-day,  because  this  influence  makes  itself  felt  in 
many  different  and  very  subtle  ways.  We  find  it  in  the 
works  of  Antonio  de  la  Gandara  in  one  form,  and  in  those  of 
Sorolla  in  another. 


64  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

In  the  former  case  it  shows  itself  in  the  deep  tones  of 
emotional  colour,  in  the  sombre  harmonies  of  velvet  blacks 
and  browns,  and  in  the  latter  it  is  an  influence  which  can  be 
felt  rather  than  seen  :  the  naturalism  of  Velasquez  adapted, 
unconsciously,  to  our  surroundings  of  to-day. 

Of  all  the  great  masters  of  Spain  it  is  probable  that,  to  the 

general  public,  Murillo  is  the   most   popular,  but  it  would 

be    difficult    to    find    any    important    trace 

I'paSshMTsS^^   ^^^    influence    of    Murillo    in    the   work 

of   the    modern    artists.     And    this    is    not 

difficult  to  understand. 

Murillo  was  an  idealist  :  a  great  exponent  of  the  romantic 
school.  And  the  Spaniards  are  born  realists — in  every  walk 
in  life. 

The  influence  of  the  French  school  on  modern  Spanish 
painters  is,  in  some  cases,  considerable,  but  not,  I  think,  so 
marked  as  in  the  region  of  literature.  Some  of  the  Spanish 
writers  of  to-day  are  "  very  French,"  but  all  the  painters — 
even  those  who  have  studied  almost  entirely  in  Paris — remain 
"  very  Spanish  "  :  this  is  notably  true  of  the  art  of  Antonio 
de  la  Gandara,  of  whose  works  I  shall  speak  a  little  later  on. 

I  venture  the  opinion  that  the  painters  of  Spain  have 
entered  the  arena  of  French  art  in  the  right  spirit.  They  have 
borrowed  from  it  everything  that  is  best  suited  to  assist  the 
production  of  their  own  ideas  and  aspirations,  and  they  have 
given  in  exchange  none  of  their  own  marked  individuality. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  Spanish  painters  of  to-day  is 

Joaquin  Sorolla — a  Valenciano  who  is  still  a  young  man,  for 

he  was  not  born  until  the  year  1862.     Sorolla 

^"y'^BasSa^"^  is  one  of  the  many  notable  Spaniards  who 

may  be  described  as  sons  of  the  people.     His 

father  was,  I  think,  a  poor  man,  and  the  young  Sorolla  was 

brought  up  by  an  uncle  who  followed  the  trade  of  locksmith. 

I  hardly  think  that  any  country  can  rival  Spain  in  the 
production  of  great  men  of  humble  parentage — if,  in  any 
circumstances,  one  is  justified  in  describing  a  Spaniard  as 


Photo  by 


Aiitltisnn,  Rome 


"  LAS   MENINAS  " 


Modern  Painters  65 

"  humble."  Race  seems  to  have  absolutely  nothing  to  do 
with  the  success  of  these  superb  democrats  :  nor  can  oppor- 
tunities for  special  education  be  largely  taken  into  account. 

The  sons  of  Spain  succeed,  if  they  want  to  succeed,  and 
this,  very  often,  in  the  most  unfavourable  surroundings. 
They  know  how  to  place  themselves  right  in  the  front 
ranks  of  art,  in  all  its  branches,  and  they  are  indomitable 
fighters. 

Take  the  case  of  another  famous  Valenciano — Blasco  Ibaiiez, 
of  whom  I  have  spoken  at  some  length  in  the  chapter  on 
Literature.  I  am  especially  reminded  of  him  at  this  moment 
because  he  has  described  in  words  what  Sorolla  has  portrayed 
with  his  brush — the  wonderful  and  ever  varying  beauties  of 
the  coast  of  Valencia  :  hardy  fishermen  putting  out  to  sea  on 
stormy  nights  and  brown-limbed  urchins  scampering  along 
a  great  length  of  golden  sand. 

Sorolla  is  equally  celebrated  in  two  distinct  phases  of  art, 

in  his  portraits  and  in  his  landscapes  and  seascapes.  Amongst 

the  latter,  his  "A  Sad  Inheritance  "  is  world- 

T  u    -i        ..    famous.    In  speaking  of  this  wonderful  picture 

Inheritance."     ,.      _  ,  \,,.„.    *=       .  •   f-  r 

Mr.  Leonard  Williams,  in  an  appreciation  of 

SoroDa   which    appeared    some    years    ago    in   The  Studio, 

spoke  as  follows  :     "He  " — Sorolla — "  has  described  to  me, 

with  almost  childish  satisfaction,  how  natural  and  un-studio- 

like  was  the  genesis  of  '  A  Sad  Inheritance,'  which  won  for 

him  the  Grand  Prix  and  the  Legion  of  Honour.      '  One  day,' 

he   says,    '  I   was   in  the   midst   of  one    of  my   Valencian 

fisher-studies,  when  I  descried,  a  long  way  off,  a  number  of 

naked  children  in  and  near  the  sea,  and  tending  them,  the 

stalwart  figure  of  a  solitary  priest.     It  seems  they  were  the 

inmates  of  the  Hospital  of  San  Juan  de  Dios,  the  sorriest 

refuse  of  society  :    the  blind,  the  mad,  the  crippled,  and  the 

leprous.     I  cannot  tell  you  how  it  all  impressed  me,  so  much 

so  that  I  lost  no  time  in  securing  from  the  hospital  authorities 

permission   to   get  to  work  upon  the  spot,  and  there  and 

then,    beside    the    water's    edge    produced    my    picture.'  " 


66  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

And  then  Mr.  Williams  continues  :  "  Consider  for  a  moment 
the  intense  and  yet  spontaneous  and  unstudious  melancholy 
of  this  terrible  masterpiece.  The  steel-blue  sea,  cruelly  hard 
in  colour  and  consistence,  appears,  about  this  unfrequented 
portion  of  the  Malvarosa  beach,  to  wear  an  isolated  and 
accursed  aspect.  The  just  domain  of  those  misshapen 
outcasts,  it  seems  to  echo  back  society's  scorn,  and  scowl  into 
their  faces." 

There  is  a  grandeur  and  simplicity  about  this  picture  which 
recalls  the  works  of  Millet  and  Bastien-Lepage.  Indeed,  for 
pure  and  virile  naturahsm,  it  stands  side  by  side  with  "  Les 
Foins,"  the  masterpiece  of  Lepage,  which  is  one  of  the  gems 
of  the  Luxembourg. 

With  regard  to  the  portraits  of  Sorolla,  they  may  be 
described  as  superb.  Personally,  I  do  not  very  much  like  his 
famous  "  The  Regency  " — which  represents 
P  ""te  t^  Queen  Cristina  standing  beside  her  son,  the 
"  young  King  " — but  it  is  a  splendidly  effec- 
tive picture.  I  much  prefer  his  portrait  of  Antonio  Gomar, 
the  landscape-painter :  in  fact,  this  seems  to  me  to  be 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  portrait  studies  of  modern 
days,  and  on  looking  at  it  and  admiring  its  amazing 
naturalism  it  is  easy  to  guess  at  the  success  this  painter  is 
certain  to  enjoy  with  the  portrait  of  the  American  President, 
which  he  has  just  been  asked  to  undertake. 

Sorolla's  portrait  of  himself  is  a  very  remarkable  work  which 
enchains  the  attention  by  reason  of  its  grandeur  of  simplicity. 
It  is  the  picture  of  a  determined  worker  :  a  man  of  broad 
sympathies,  of  keen  susceptibilities,  and  of  iron  will.  A 
rugged  face  lit  up  by  penetrating  eyes,  which  seem  almost 
menacing  in  their  determination  to  tear  from  Nature  her 
most  cherished  secrets. 

The  art  of  Sorolla  is  known  and  appreciated  all  over  Europe, 
but  it  seems  as  though  his  most  fervid  admirers  are  to  be  found 
in  America.  Since  the  beginning  of  1909  he  has  had  an  over- 
whelming success  in  New  York  and  in  other  parts  of  the  United 


Modern  Painters  67 

States.  It  is  said  that  175,000  persons  visited  his  exhibition 
of  pictures  at  the  Hispanic  Museum  of  New  York  and  that 
this  echpses  all  American  records  for  attendance  at  an  exhibi- 
tion of  pictures  by  only  one  artist.  There  were  about  365 
pictures  in  all  at  this  exhibition  and  some  of  them  were  lent 
specially  for  the  occasion,  but  so  great  is  the  demand  for  the 
others,  by  art  collectors,  that  it  is  most  unlikely  that  any  of 
them  will  be  returned  to  Europe. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  painter  whose  expression  of 

Nature  is  more  opposed  to  that  of  SoroUa  than  Zuloaga,  and 

yet  each  of  these  painters  is  Spanish  in  blood, 

ignacio         ^^  vision,  in  thought,  and  in  expression.     In 

considering  these  two  painters,  side  by  side, 

we  seem  to  find  some  of  the  secrets  of  Spain,  the  Unexpected, 

revealed  ! 

Zuloaga — to  the  foreigner — seems  very  much  more 
"  Spanish  "  than  Sorolla.  He  paints,  and  to  perfection,  just 
what  visitors  to  Spain  expect  to  see,  on  every  side.  And  yet 
Ignacio  Zuloaga  is  not  one  whit  more  Spanish — in  style — than 
is  the  creator  of  "  A  Sad  Inheritance." 

Setting  aside  entirely  the  question  of  skill  and  without 
making  any  sort  of  comparison,  from  the  technical  point  of 
view,  between  these  two  artists,  it  will  be  instructive,  I  think, 
to  consider  them  for  a  moment  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
Spaniard.  If  the  latter  agreed  to  consider  Sorolla  and  Zuloaga 
equally  great  as  artists,  he  would  still — in  a  majority  of  cases — 
vote  unhesitatingly  in  favour  of  Sorolla.  And  why  ?  Because 
— and  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  whole  position  is 
hypothetical — the  art  of  Zuloaga  represents  the  vision  of  the 
eyes  and  that  of  Sorolla  the  vision  of  the  intelligence.  And 
at  this  period  of  her  existence  Spain  is  rather  turning  her  back 
on  "  the  lust  of  the  eyes  and  the  pride  of  life." 

The  pictures  of  Zuloaga  give  us  the  vivid,  brilliant  types 
of  which  Gautier  and  Hugo  and  Merim6e  have  sung  with  so 
much  fervid  eloquence,  and  these  are  types  which  actually 
exist  at  the  present  day,  if  we  but  know  where  to  look  for  them. 


68  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

But  the  ultra-modern  Spaniard  does  not  desire  to  find  them  : 
he  is  only  too  pleased  to  find  it  possible  to  believe  that  such 
"  types  "  exist  only  in  the  imagination  of  foreigners  ! 

With  regard  to  the  art  of  Zuloaga,  it  has  frequently  been 

said,  and  I  think  very  unfairly,  that  he  has  closely  copied 

the  style  of  Goya.     He  has,  to  a  large  extent, 

Rich  Colour  ^c?^*''<^^  the  style  of  Goya  in  certain  respects, 
but  his  art  is  the  expression  of  a  powerful 
and  individual  intelligence.  He  is  a  Basque  and  possessed 
of  the  qualities  which  have  helped  to  keep  the  people  of 
the  northern  provinces  of  Spain  and  the  southern  provinces 
of  France  a  thing  apart  from  the  rest  of  Europe. 

Personally,  I  am  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the  art  of 
Zuloaga.  It  represents  a  side  of  nature  which  seems  to  me 
to  be  of  infinite  importance  :  the  world  of  rich  colour  of 
alluring  smiles,  of  fragrant  flowers,  of  joyous  laughter,  and 
of  amour. 

In  life  we  want  the  silver-grey  tints  of  humanity,  but  also, 
at  times.  Nature  calls  aloud  for  an  orgy  of  the  senses.  Of 
the  many  delicious  types  of  Spanish  beauty  depicted  by 
Ignacio  Zuloaga  one  of  the  most  fascinating  is  his  picture 
entitled  "  Lola  La  Gitana."  For  entrancing  coquetry  this 
portrait  of  a  southern  gipsy  could  not  be  surpassed.  The 
calm  assurance  of  her  pose  and  the  half-veiled  mockery  of  her 
superb  eyes  help  to  make  this  picture  one  of  the  most  notable 
in  the  world  of  modern  Spanish  Art. 

And  there  is  a  certain  portrait  of  a  picador,  in  traje  de  luces, 
which  is  a  genuine  masterpiece.  The  pose  of  the  figure  is 
extraordinarily  natural,  and  the  expression  on  the  rugged 
face  haunts  the  imagination.  As  a  portrait  it  is  impossible 
to  imagine  anything  more  perfect. 

Zuloaga  was  born  thirty-nine  years  ago,  at  Eibar,  the  home 
of  damascene  work,  and  his  father — Placido  Zuloaga — is  a 
past-master  in  the  metallic  art. 

He  has  worked  a  great  deal  in  Paris,  and  has  already 
produced  a  surprising  number  of  notable  pictures,  which  are 


Modern  Painters  69 

to  be  found  in  the  galleries  of  all  the  important  European 

capitals. 

It   has   been   said   that    Antonio    de   la    Gandara   is   an 

enthusiastic  disciple  of  Velasquez,  just  as  it  has  been  said  that 

Ignacio  Zuloaga  is  an  enthusiastic  disciple  of 

Antonio        Qova.     And  in  some  of  Gandara's  pictures 
de  la  Gandara.         -'  ^ 

there  is  a  subtle  "  something  "  which  recalls 

Velasquez  :    the  rich,   velvet  depth   of    colour  to  which   I 

alluded  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter.     Beyond  this  I  find 

but  little  trace  of  the  Velasquez  influence  in  the  work  of  this 

most  interesting  artist :    and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  this, 

even  though  a  solitary  example  of  Seiior  de  la  Gandara's  work 

might  be  considered  quite  Velasquez  in  some  respects  ! 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Antonio  de  la  Gandara  is  a  great  admirer 
and  student  of  the  schools  of  Gainsborough  and  of  Sir  Joshua  : 
more  than  this,  he  is  an  ardent  admirer  of  the  genius  of 
Hogarth.  From  every  point  of  view  the  work  of  this  artist 
is  full  of  interest.  He  is  a  Parisian  of  Parisians,  who  has 
long  made  his  home  in  the  French  capital,  and  yet  he  remains 
— in  the  expression  of  his  art — entirely  Spanish. 

Critics  have  said  that  Antonio  de  la  Gandara  has  created 
the  "  greyhound  type."  That  there  is  a  suggestion  of  that 
most  graceful  and  subtle  of  animals  in  many  of  his  portraits. 

If  I  were  asked  to  sum  up,  in  a  very  few  words,  the 
most  remarkable  revelation  of  this  painter's  art,  I  should 
unhesitatingly  say  that  he  stands  alone  as  a  painter  of 
nerves  ! 

The  finest  portrait  ever  painted  by  Gandara — this  is  my 

personal  opinion — was  to  be  found  in  the  galleries  of  the 

Beaux  Arts  a  few  years  ago  :    where  it  is  now 

^Portrait"^  I  do  not  know.  It  was  a  full-length  picture 
of  a  tall,  slender  man,  dressed  in  dark 
brown,  and  he  was  standing  against  a  background  of 
sombre  colour,  like  black  velvet  in  certain  lights.  I  do  not 
remember  the  name  of  the  picture,  but  once  seen  it  could  never 
be  forgotten.     The  thin  face,   with  its  pointed  beard  and 

6— (2399) 


70  Spain   of  the  Spanish 

haunting  eyes,  seemed  quivering  with  nervous  life  and  the 
tapering  fingers  of  the  slender  hands  were  more  eloquent  than 
spoken  words.  It  was  a  portrait,  but  also,  and  this  very 
specially,  it  was  a  type.  The  essentially  modem  "  type  "of 
intellectual  Paris,  where  nerves  and  subtle  suggestions 
dominate  the  untutored  senses. 

Antonio  de  la  Gandara  is,  above  aU,  a  painter  of  beautiful 
women  :  beautiful  of  feature  and  form  or — and  this  more 
often — of  rarely  beautiful  intelligence.  One  of  the  most 
fascinating  portraits  of  a  woman  I  have  ever  seen  is  this  artist's 
pastel  sketch  of  Madame  Gabrielle  d'Annunzio  :  I  prefer  it 
to  his  large  and  important  portrait  in  oils  of  the  same  lady. 

All  the  pastel  studies  of  this  artist  are  full  of  fascination, 
and  he  recently  exhibited  some  remarkable  specimens  of  his 
pastel  work  on  grey  paper  at  the  exposition  of  the  "  Peintres 
et  Sculpteurs,"  at  the  rue  de  She,  Paris. 

A  great  charm  of  Gandara's  work  lies  in  its  variety  of 
expression.  He  is  equally  successful,  for  example,  in  a 
portrait  of  a  spirituelle  blonde,  such  as  Madame  Henri  Letellier, 
and  of  such  a  personality  as  the  poet  Verlaine  ! 

Rusinol  has  often  been  spoken  of  as  "  the  Painter  of 
Gardens,"  but  to  describe  him  as  the  "  Poet  Painter  "  would 
seem  more  adequate.  He  has  made  a 
Santiago  speciality  of  gardens  of  all  kinds,  but  he  has 
introduced  into  each  picture  the  very  spirit 
of  poetry.  Figures  are  rarely,  if  ever,  introduced  :  never- 
theless the  gardens  of  Santiago  Rusinol  are  peopled  with  spirits 
of  the  past.     They  never  give  an  impression  of  loneliness. 

Rusifiol  is  a  Catalan,  and  was  born  in  Barcelona  in  1861. 
At  the  beginning  of  his  career  he  felt  inclined  to  take  up 
figure-painting,  but  then  the  spirit  of  the  garden  entered  into 
possession  of  his  soul  and  never  since  has  he  found  it  possible 
to  escape  from  the  sweet  enthralment. 

And  the  fascination  of  these  Spanish  gardens  must  be  felt 
to  be  realised  :  it  is  impossible  to  convey,  in  mere  words,  any 
real  impression  of  their  charm  and  of  their  infinite  variety. 


Modern  Painters  71 

For  so  varied  are  the  garden  scenes  of  Rusifiol  that  they  can 
be  placed  side  by  side  in  a  "  one  man  "  exhibition  without 
becoming  monotonous.  In  fact,  such  exhibitions  have  been 
given  in  Madrid,  Paris,  Brussels,  Barcelona,  etc.,  and  with 
immense  success. 

One  of  the  most  fascinating  of  the  Rusifiol  gardens  is  that 

called  "  The   Labyrinth,   Barcelona."     This  is  an  exquisite 

study  of  light  and  shade,  the  winding  walks 

"^^^R^siHor'  °^  outlmed   with   clean-cut  hedges    aU    leading 

to  a  clear    pond,  in  which  is  reflected   the 

gleaming  marbles  of  white    statuary.      An   atmosphere    of 

summer  silence  pervades  this  picture,  but  one,  unconsciously, 

looks  for  the  appearance  of  joyous  figures  stealing  through 

the    green    arches,   finger    on    lips    as   they   endeavour    to 

preserve  the  secret  of  their  presence  from  their  companions 

in  the  outer  paths. 

And  again  in  the  wonderful  picture,  "  Dans  un  Jardin 
Seigneurial,"  with  its  stately  flight  of  stone  steps  and  its 
luxuriant  foliage  on  either  side  !  The  steps,  which  mount 
and  mount  until  they  seem  almost  to  mingle  with  the  waving 
branches  of  sombre  trees,  are  empty,  save  for  the  presence 
of  two  superb  peacocks,  but  in  imagination  one  sees  the 
stately  form  of  some  lovely  woman,  shrouded  in  laces  and 
with  roses  thrown  against  her  heavy  coils  of  hair,  slowly 
descending  to  meet  her  lover  and  lord  !  The  whole  picture 
is  enveloped  in  an  atmosphere  of  riches  and  magnificence  and 
passionate  love. 

If  Rusihol  had  not  elected  to  become  a  painter  it  is  quite 
likely  that  he  would  have  made  a  name  for  himself  in  the 
world  of  literature,  for  he  has  produced  some  remarkable 
short  stories,  and  also  some  dramas — ail  written  in  Catalan. 
A  specially  interesting  volume  published  by  him  is  entitled 
"  Itnpresiones  de  Arte,"  which  is  illustrated  by  himself  and  also 
by  Zuloaga  and  by  Utrillo.  He  has  enjoyed  many  wanderings 
in  foreign  countries,  and  has,  in  several  instances,  recorded 
his  impressions  with  pen  as  well  as  brush. 


72  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

This  gifted  woman  is  one  of  the  most  notable  of  the  Spanish 
painters  resident  in  Paris.  She  has  made  a  speciaHty  of 
fiower  and  fruit  subjects,  but  has  also  executed 
^Kiv^MuLl^  ^°^"®  portraits  of  rare  charm.  Of  the  fruit 
studies  of  Madame  de  la  Riva  Muiioz  it  is 
impossible  to  speak  with  sufficient  warmth  for  they  are  abso- 
lutely marvellous.  And  this  is  specially  true  of  the  texture 
of  the  bunches  of  grapes  which  are  frequently  introduced  into 
her  pictures  :  no  other  living  artist  approaches  her  in  this  field 
of  art. 

Madame  de  la  Riva  Mufioz  has  long  been  one  of  the  favourite 
painters  of  Queen  Cristina — the  mother  of  King  Alfonso  : 
this  Royal  lady  has  purchased  a  number  of  her  paintings, 
water-colours  as  well  as  oils,  and  these  are  to  be  found  in  the 
Royal  Palace  of  Madrid  and  also  at  the  Palais  de  Miramar  at 
San  Sebastian.  The  Infanta  Isabel,  aunt  to  the  King,  has 
also  become  possessed  of  notable  specimens  of  this  great 
artist's  works. 

In  aU  the  important  art  centres  of  Europe  Madame  de  la 
Riva  Mufioz '  works  have  been  received  with  acclamation. 
She  received  bronze  and  silver  medals  at  the  Paris  Exhibitions 
of  1889  and  of  1900,  and  is  a  Member  of  the  Jury  of  the 
Society  of  "  Femmes  Peintres  et  Sculpteurs  "  of  France.  She 
is  "  Membre  elu  de  la  Societe  des  Artistes  de  Berlin  "  and 
'  Membre  elu  de  la  Society  des  Artistes  et  Ecrivains  de 
Vienne,"  etc.,  etc. 

Important  pictures  by  this  eminent  artist  are  to  be  found 
in  the  principal  art  collections  of  Berlin,  Saint  Petersburg, 
Vienna,  Munich,  Madrid,  Paris,  etc.,  and  the  State  of  France 
has  purchased  two  of  her  exquisite  studies  of  nature  morte. 

One  of  the  best  known  and  most  appreciated  Spanish  artists 
of  the  present  day  is  Don  Jos^  Villegas,  the  Director  of  the 
Prado  Museum  of  Madrid.  This  eminent 
Villeea^  painter  is  a  Sevillano,  and  well  sustains  the 
glory  of  Andalusian  art  :  his  ^ime  is  world- 
wide.    Don  Jos6,  who  was  born  in  the  year  1848,  began  his 


Modern  Painters  73 

art  studies  under  Jose  Maria  Romero,  at  Sevilla.  Later  on 
he  became  a  pupil  at  the  Belles  Artes,  of  Eduardo  Cano,  but 
broke  with  this  school  because  of  the  absence  of  a  "  hfe  " 
class,  Villegas  had  been  immensely  impressed  by  an  exhibi- 
tion of  pictures  by  famous  artists,  which  he  had  seen  at  Sevilla, 
and  on  leaving  this  exhibition  he  at  once  announced  to  his 
then  master,  Cano,  that  he  did  not  intend  to  continue  the 
system  of  copying  from  the  flat,  but  that  he  was  determined 
at  once  to  begin  studying  from  life.  Cano  placed  such 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  young  enthusiast  that  the  latter 
finally  left  Sevilla  and  made  his  way  to  Madrid.  At  this  period 
Villegas  made  several  excellent  portraits,  and  he  also  found 
great  benefit  from  the  copies  he  made  of  the  works  of  Velasquez 
and  Titian. 

Quite  early  in  his  career  his  paintings  created  a  sensation 
in  Madrid,  and  he  received  so  much  encouragement  that  he 
decided  to  continue  his  studies  in  Rome.  In  Rome  the  young 
Spaniard  studied  in  the  famous  academy  of  Gigi,  through 
which  had  passed  all  the  most  famous  pictures  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

While  in  Rome  he  painted  a  picture  which  at  once  placed 
him  in  the  front  ranks  of  his  profession  :  it  represented  a 
Plaza  de  Toros  in  his  native  country,  and  was  called  "  El 
Descanso  de  la  Cuadrilla." 

So  charmed  was  the  illustrious  artist,  Benito  Mercader,  with 
the  pictures  of  Andalusian  life  created  by  Jose  Villegas,  that 
he  took  some  of  them  with  him  to  Paris  and  there  exhibited 
them  to  a  circle  of  art  critics.  From  that  moment  the  success 
of  the  sevillano  was  assured. 

In  a  delightfully  sympathetic  letter,  which  I  recently 
received  from  this  great  artist,  he  pomts  out  that  his  two  finest 
pictures,  in  his  own  opinion,  are  the  "  I\Iuerte  del  Maestro  " 
and  "  El  Triunfo  de  la  Dogaresa  Foscari."  Both  these 
paintings  are  world-famous. 

With  regard  to  the  "  Dogaresa  Foscari,"  the  grouping  of 
the  vast  number  of  figures  introduced  is  most  remarkable  : 


74  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

the  central  figure  is  surrounded  by  ladies  of  the  Court,  ambas- 
sadors and  other  notable  personages,  and  beyond  these  there 
are  pages  and  standard-bearers,  etc.  The  impression  of  vivid 
life  conveyed  is  quite  extraordinary  :  each  separate  figure 
seems  alert  and  ready  for  motion. 

Both  the  paintings  above  mentioned  were — in  1894 — 
exhibited  in  Munich,  Berlin,  Vienna,  and  Brussels,  everywhere 
creating  a  veritable  sensation.  In  fact,  at 
"^Jj^g"^^*^,''^^  Brussels  the  excitement  which  raged  round 
the  "  Muerte  del  Maestro  "  was  so  great  that 
it  had  to  be  railed  off  in  the  exhibition  gallery,  to  guard 
it  from  injury  by  the  immense  crowds  which  surrounded 
it  at  all  hours  of  the  day.  The  conception  of  this 
picture — the  "  Muerte  del  Maestro,"  which  represents  the 
death  of  a  bull-fighter — is  masterly.  The  unfortunate  man, 
wounded  unto  death,  has  been  conveyed  from  the  arena  into 
the  little  chapel,  which  is  always  to  be  found  at  a  Plaza  de 
Toros.  He  is  lying  on  a  mattress  at  the  foot  of  the  altar, 
and  an  alguacil  is  conveying,  with  a  despairing  gesture  of 
the  hand,  that  all  is  over.  Besides  the  powerful  and  strangely 
pathetic  figure  of  the  dead  man  there  are  several  figures  in  this 
painting  which  enchain  the  attention  :  notably  that  of  a 
mozo  de  estoques — the  keeper  of  the  torero's  swords.  A  replica 
of  this  picture  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Emperor  of 
Russia. 

The  more  important  paintings  of  Sefior  Villegas  are  to  be 
found  in  private  collections  in  America.  He  has  also  notable 
works  in  the  public  galleries  of  London,  Paris,  BerUn,  Vienna, 
New  York,  St.  Petersburg,  etc. 

He  is  a  Commander  of  the  Legion  of  Honour,  an  Academi- 
cian of  fourteen  different  Academies,  and  has  been  decorated 
by  nearly  all  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe.  His  most 
cherished  decoration,  however,  is  the  Gold  Medal  of  Austria, 
which  is  a  rare  and  much  coveted  distinction. 

Amongst  his  best  known  pictures  the  following  may  be 
singled  out  for  special  mention  :  "Los  Primeros  Frutos,"   in 


Modern  Painters  75 

the  possession  of  Queen  Margarita  of  Italy ;  "  The  Doge 
Foscari  leaving  his  Ducal  Palace  after  his  deposition  " ;  an 
admirable  portrait  of  Madame  Villegas  ;  "  The  Last  Kiss," 
and  his  portrait  of  King  Alfonso  XIII,  in  the  costume  of  a 
Colonel  of  Halberdiers,  this  picture  having  been  executed  at 
the  order  of  the  Bank  of  Spain. 

Don  Jose  Villegas  is  rather  a  small  man  with  the  kindest 

of    smiles    and    fierce    moustaches  !       His    bearing    is    so 

determined     that      almost      it     might     be 

'  described  as    defiant,   and    he   is  the   most 

sjmipathetic  of  friends. 

In  the  letter,  to  which  I  have  already  alluded,  he  said  :  "I 
am  working  at  present  with  as  much  enthusiasm  as  in  my  first 
years  of  student  life.  I  still  continue  studying,  since  for  me  no 
religion  is  greater  than  that  of  art,  for  which  I  am  filled  with 
an  idolatrous  love  :  I  do  not  think  that  anything  more 
beautiful  could  exist  than  Art  and  Science,  for  to  these  we  owe 
all  our  ideals." 

I  have  placed  together  two  famous  sons  of  Sevilla :  Bilbao 

— who  was  born  in  the  year  1861 — studied  in  Rome  with 

Villegas  and  afterwards  spent  some  time  in 

Gonzalo  Bilbao.  Naples    and    Venice.     His    first    prominent 

picture  was  entitled,  "  El  Idilio  de  Dafnis  y 

Cloe,"  and  it  attracted  immediate  attention  by  reason  of  its 

superb  draughtsmanship.  It  is  notable  in  the  case  of  Bilbao  that 

he  is  equally  notable  as  a  draughtsman  and  as  a  subtle  colourist. 

Bilbao  has  made  successes  in  several  regions  of  art,  but  the 
work  done  during  his  prolonged  visit  to  the  north  of  Africa 
is  given,  by  many  critics,  the  most  important  place.  The 
majority  of  these  Moroccan  scenes  were  exhibited  in  Munich 
some  years  ago  and  enjoyed  a  sensational  success.  Chief 
amongst  these  are  "  Una  Calle  de  Tetuan,"  "  El  Santon 
Arabe,"  "  Primavera,"  and  "  Pasa  Tiempos  Arabes  " — all  of 
which  are  bathed  in  light  and  sunshine.  There  is  reflected 
in  them  not  only  the  Oriental  fantasy,  but  also  the  imagination 
of  an  artist  who  is  wholly  Spanish. 


76  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

One  of  the  largest  and  best  known  of  this  artist's  pictures 
is  "  La  Vuelta  al  Hato,"  which  obtained  a  silver  medal  at  the 
exhibition  of  Barcelona  in  1891.  Of  this  painting  the  critic 
Don  Augusto  Comas  y  Blanco  has  written  :  "  It  is  late  in  the 
afternoon  ;  twiliglit  gathers  and  the  light  fades.  On  the 
horizon  the  violet  tints  of  night  begin  to  appear  and  labourers 
after  their  day's  work  return  through  the  cornfields,  singing 
joyously.  The  figures  are  exquisitely  balanced  in  this  picture  ; 
each  one  occupies  its  own  proper  place  and  each  movement 
is  natural.  The  mother  on  arriving  at  the  cottage  runs  to 
greet  her  child,  whom  she  raises  in  her  arms  with  a  gesture  of 
rapture  ;  the  father — whose  oxen  are  still  yoked  together — 
contemplates  the  scene  which  represents  his  domestic 
happiness.  The  conception  of  this  simple  scene  is  most 
admirable." 

Of  quite  another  order  is  Bilbao's  "  Cojedores  de  Naranjas," 

which  represents  a  grove  of  orange  trees  in  full  fruit.     In  the 

foreground   a  woman  mounted  on  a  ladder 

PainUne        ^^  plucking  the   golden   fruit   and   throwing 

it   down   to  a  companion    who   is    standing 

under  the  tree.      To  the  right  of  the  canvas,  and  in  the 

shadow  of  the  trees  some  men  are  piling  the  oranges  into 

great   baskets.     The    most  notable  thing  in  this  picture  is 

the  figure  of   the   woman   standing   near   the   orange    tree 

and  looking  up  ;    the  drawing  of  her  head   and   shoulders 

is  masterly.      Brilliant  rays  of  sunshine,  which  have  forced 

their   way   through    the   branches  of  the  trees,  fall  on  the 

figures  of  the  workers,  and  the   glory   of   golden    light   is 

almost  startling  in  its  intensity,  for  it   is   the  sunshine  of 

Sevilla  in  full  summer. 

This  picture  obtained  a  reward  at  the  great  exhibition  of 
Chicago. 

Many  modern  Spanish  artists  have  been  accused  of  sacri- 
ficing line  to  colour  or  vice  versa,  but  in  the  case  of  Bilbao  it 
may  again  be  said  that  he  is  as  fine  a  draughtsman  as  he  is 
a  fine  colourist, 


Modern  Painters  77 

Yet  another  famous  Andalusian  comes  to  be  added  to  the 
hst.     Carbonero  is  a  native  of  Malaga,  and  he  is  a  true  son  of 
southern  soil.     Happy  and  joyous  in  tempera- 
Jos  6  Moreno     jyjgj^^    as  in  his  art,  this  painter  seems  to 
Carbonero.        ,  ,  ,  .'  .        r    x     ^   ■,      ■  ii     , 

breathe  out  the  spirit  of  Andalusia  : .   that 

delicious  philosophy  of  accepting  the  day  as  it  comes  and 
enjoying  its  delights  to  the  full. 

Of  all  the  modern  Spanish  painters,  Moreno  Carbonero  seems 
the  most  joyous  and  contented.  He  does  not  worry  Nature 
by  ceaseless  questionings  as  does  Sorolla,  but  he  admires  our 
great  common  mother  with  all  his  heart  and  depicts  her  varied 
aspects  with  unerring  skill. 

But  from  this  view  of  his  character  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  Carbonero  cannot  be  very  serious  when  he  likes,  for  his 
greatest  painting  represents  a  scene  of  intense 
^"  ^Pkture  "^""^  solemnity.  It  is  called  "  The  Conversion 
of  the  Duke  of  Gandia,"  and  it  is  at  present 
one  of  the  notable  features  in  the  Museum  of  Modern  Art 
at  Madrid.  The  story  of  this  picture — which  is  historic — 
is  so  romantic  that  it  is  worth  while  to  recapitulate  some  of 
its  leading  incidents.  "  Don  Francisco  de  Borja  y  Aragon," 
"  Duque  de  Gandia,"  was  the  equerry  and  intimate  friend 
of  Carlos  I  of  Spain.  It  was  said  that  he  was  also  the  devoted 
admirer  of  the  Empress  Isabel.  It  was  his  duty  to  escort  the 
Empress  on  her  travels,  when  she  went  hunting,  etc.,  and  on 
occasion,  when  the  Royal  party  was  hunting  at  Toledo,  Dona 
Isabel  died  suddenly  from  a  virulent  fever.  The  Duke  of 
Gandia  had  to  escort  her  remains  to  Granada,  that  she  might 
be  buried  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Reyes  Catolicos. 

They  were  received  at  the  Chapel  by  a  bishop,  who 
demanded  to  see  Her  Majesty.  The  cofftn  had  to  be  opened, 
and  a  terrible  odour  of  death  and  decay  spread  itself  through 
the  building. 

It  was  necessary  that  the  Duke  should  call  on  the  name 
of  the  Empress  three  times,  and  then  when  he  received  no 
response,  he  announced  that  she  was  dead. 


78  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

This  heartrending  ceremony  took  such  an  effect  upon  the 
Duke  that  he  declared  he  would  never  again  serve  an  earthly 
monarch,  and  in  1548  he  became  a  member  of  the  Jesuit 
Order.  From  that  moment  he  led  such  a  markedly  holy  life 
that  he  was  finally  canonized  and  is  venerated  under  the  name 
of  San  Francisco  de  Borja. 

The  arrangement  of  the  figures  in  this  picture  is  very  remark- 
able. The  coffin  of  the  dead  Empress,  with  its  rich  draperies 
falling  from  it  to  the  floor,  occupies  one  side  and  the  centre  of  the 
canvas.  At  the  other  side  the  Prelates,  in  gorgeous  vestments 
and  flanked  by  lighted  candles,  are  standing,  and  at  the  foot 
of  the  coffin  the  grief-stricken  man  is  supported  by  a  friend. 

To  the  world  at  large  Carbonero  is  best  known  as  an 

inimitable  portrayer  of  Don  Quixote.     He  has  executed  many 

pictures  in  which  the  marvellous  knight  of 

Inimitable       Lg.  Mancha  has  been  the  chief  figure,  but  of 

Don  Quixote,  these  none  is  more  fascinating  than  his  "Don 
■Quixote  and  the  Windmill."  In  this  painting 
our  well-beloved  knight  is  depicted  falling  from  a  height,  with 
poor  terrified  Rosinante  just  above  him,  the  reins  still  tightly 
clutched  in  Don  Quixote's  gloved  hand.  The  whole  thing  is 
an  amazing  tour  de  force,  and  would  alone  have  made  its 
creator  famous. 

I  have  already  alluded,  in  passing,  to  Carbonero's  large 
portrait  of  King  Alfonso  XIII.  Personally,  I  do  not  like  it, 
because  it  does  not  recall  to  me  the  King,  but  as  a  painting 
it  is  very  fine  and  the  figure  is  posed  in  a  simple  but  dignified 
attitude. 

Once  more  we  have  a  sevillano,  and  one  whose  studio,  in 
Se villa,  can  only  be  described  by  the  single  word  ideal,  for  it 
is  in  the  Alcazar,  with  its  great  windows  over- 
Diego  Lopez,  looking  the  terrace  that  leads  down  to  the 
delicious  gardens  in  which  Maria  de  Padilla 
used  to  walk,  and  in  which  may  still  be  seen  her  bath,  from 
which  the  courtiers  of  Don  Pedro  the  Cruel  used  to  drink  to 
show  their  gallantry  ! 


Photo  bv 


Pavon 


^T'^^i 


Modern  Painters  79 

It  is  a  real  delight  to  visit  the  studio  of  Don  Diego  Lopez  on 
a  sultry  afternoon  of  late  spring — in  Sevilla ;  when  outside 
the  myrtles  and  roses  are  filling  the  air  with  fragrance,  and 
inside,  in  the  lofty,  peaceful  room,  where  the  pictures  are 
placed,  here  and  there,  on  easels,  everything  is  bathed  in  a 
soft  and  subdued  light. 

It  is  as  a  portrait  painter  that  Diego  Lopez  is  most  eminently 
successful,  and  already  he  has  had  for  subjects  some  of  the 
most  beautiful  women  of  Madrid  and  of  other  parts  of  Spain. 
One  of  his  finest  portraits  is  that  of  King  Alfonso  XIII,  which 
may  be  said  to  be  entirely  successful  as  it  is  very  like  the 
King  and  also  a  most  pleasing  picture.  And  it  is  a  great  deal 
to  be  able  to  say  this  of  a  Royal  portrait,  for  some  unwritten 
law  seems  to  govern  the  brush  of  each  painter  who  undertakes 
such  a  task — a  law  which  indicates  that  all  Royal  Personages 
must  be  represented  with  smaU  features,  smooth  faces,  and 
placid  expressions  ! 

A  very  well-known  art  critic  has  said  of  Don  Diego  that  his 

success  as  a  portrait  painter  may  be  attributed  largely  to  his 

faculty  for  keeping  his  "subjects"  thoroughly 

Su^ccess*^       interested  and  amused.     He  talks  to  them 

all  the  time  he  is   painting,   and  he  rarely 

attempts  to  place  them  in  special  positions.     While  he  is 

talking  and  laughing  with  his  sitters  he  is  busily  engaged  in 

studying  them,  from  every  point  of  view,  and  before  he  begins 

to  work  seriously  with  his  brush  he  has  painted  the  picture 

in  his  imagination. 

The  sevillano  is  by  nature  a  guason — otherwise  a  person  very 
fond  of  joking  !  Diego  Lopez  is  in  this  respect,  as  in  many 
others,  a  true  son  of  the  Andalusian  soil,  and  his  love  of  fun 
has  often  made  it  possible  for  his  sitters  to  pass  an  ideal 
hour  instead  of  a  tiresome  one  ! 

Besides  his  portraits,  this  artist  has  done  some  beautiful 
landscapes  in  oils — and  in  giving  the  impression  of  southern 
sunlight  he  is  specially  successful. 

Juan  Sala,  who  is  a  pupil  of  Courtois  and  of  CoUin,  is  stiU 


80  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

quite  a  young  man,  but  already  he  has  made  a  name  for 

himself  in  Europe.     This  artist  is  remarkably  versatile  ;    not 

only    is    he     the     successful     delineator    of 

Juan  Sala.       Spanish  beauties  and  of  Andalusian  scenery, 

but  also  he  understands  how  to  portray  the 

spirituelle  Parisienne  with  a  delicacy  of  touch  which,  in  some 

cases,  recalls  the  art  of  Helleu. 

It  is,  however,  as  a  painter  of  Spanish  types  of  beauty  that 
Juan  Sala  is  best  known,  outside  Spain  ;  in  Paris  he  has,  for 
some  years  past,  enjoyed  a  genuine  success,  and  his  exhibitions 
of  paintings  are  always  crowded.  The  Parisian  papers  have 
aU  spoken  in  words  of  glowing  praise  of  a  certain  "  Carmen  " 
painted  by  this  artist ;  he  has  more  than  once  depicted  the 
wayward  gipsy  of  Prosper  Merimee,  but  in  the  picture  to 
which  I  am  now  specially  alluding,  he  achieved  a  sensational 
success.  The  conception  of  this  "  Carmen  "  was  quite 
unconventional ;  she  was  not  clothed  in  brilliant  colours,  nor 
was  she  represented  as  an  audaciously  alluring  creature  of 
fierce  and  violent  passions  ;  the  svelt  figure  looks  almost 
fragile  in  its  swathed  shawl  of  sombre  black,  and  even  more 
sombre  is  the  heavy  hair  which  makes  a  mysterious  frame 
for  her  curiously  fascinating  face.  The  eyes  are  brilliant 
but  full  of  a  malicious  and  subtle  fire  ;  the  skin  is  golden 
yellow,  and  the  voluptuous  lips  scarlet  as  a  ripe  pomegranate  ! 

Juan  Sala  is  very  successful  as  a  portrait  painter,  two  of 
his  finest  works  in  this  connection  being  a  striking  picture  of 
Coquelin  Aine  and  of  his  own  wife,  who  is  a  brilliant  Parisienne. 

An  artist  of  a  curiously  interesting  and  complex  personality 

is  Roberto  Montenegro,  who  is  half  Mexican  and  half  Spanish. 

His  drawings  and  etchings  are  really  remark- 

Mo^rTtenegro.      ^^^^^    "^^    ^^^y    ^^^    ^^^    origmality   of    the 

subjects,  but  for  their  decorative  treatment, 

which,  although  distinctly  of  the  school  of  Aubrey  Beardsley, 

is  permeated  with  a  subtle  mysticism  which  is  quite  personal. 

Montenegro  has  been  influenced,  undeniably,  by  the 
German  school  of   Symbolists.     In  Germany  lie  would  be 


Modern  Painters  81 

classed  among  the  Gedankekiinstler — a  word  which  may  be 
roughly  translated  Ideologists — but  this  influence  may  be 
compared  to  a  narrow  river  course  through  which  his  own 
imagination  rushes  in  a  tumultuous  and  capricious  torrent. 
The  dominant  note  in  Montenegro's  work  is  a  love  for  the 
strange  and  the  luxurious.  His  gardens  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  with  their  peacocks,  their  yew  hedges,  and  their  dark 
and  silent  avenues,  form  a  background  for  some  beautiful 
nude  figure,  with  powdered  hair,  reclining  on  a  mass '  of 
embroidered  draperies  and  adorned  with  heavy  jewels  of 
Byzantine  design,  such  as  one  sees  in  the  pictures  of  Gustave 
Moreau.  A  certain  note  of  melancholy  and  disillusion,  which 
is  very  modern,  is  also  evident,  and  is  reminiscent  of  the 
scarcely  concealed  satire  of  Aubrey  Beardsley. 

An  exhibition  of  Montenegro's  works  was  recently  held  in 
Madrid,  and  created  quite  a  sensation  in  art  circles.  The  finest 
drawings  exhibited  were  "  The  Temptation  of  Saint  Anthony," 
"  The  Fountain  of  Life,"  "  Salome,"  and  a  remarkable  portrait 
of  Evelina  Paoli,  the  heroine  of  d'Annunzio's  "  La  Nave." 

Spain  is,  at  the  present  day,  rich  in  sculptors,  but  most 
prominent  among  these  must  be  placed  Mariano  Benlliure — 

one  of  three  remarkable  brothers.     Benlliure 
Some  Notable    ^^^    ^^gg^^    eminently    successful    in    many 

branches  of  his  art,  but  in  one  particular  line 
he  reigns  supreme  ;  no  one  can  rival  him  as  a  sculptor  of  bulls 
and  of  picadors. 

What  Goya  did  in  the  past  for  the  bull  ring  with  canvas 
and  brush,   Mariano  Benlliure  has  done  with  bronze   and 

marble.     His  first  success  was  made  at  the 
Mariano        early  age  of  nine  years,  when  he  modelled  a 

surprisingly  life-like  figure  of  a  wounded 
picador,  and  since  then  he  has  again  and  again  compelled 
the  admiration  of  nations  with  his  bronze  figures  depicting 
scenes  in  some  Plaza  de  toros. 

Benlliure  might  have — perhaps  has — made  a  fortune 
several  times  over  with  his  portrait  busts  in  marble. 


82  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

Every  beautiful  woman  in  Spain,  from  the  Queen  down,  has 
been  immortaUsed  by  him,  and  these  portrait  busts  are 
remarkable  for  several  reasons ;  they  are  invariably  faithful 
likenesses,  but  more  than  that,  they  indicate,  in  some  subtle 
way,  the  temperament  of  the  subject. 

Benlliure's  portrait  of  Queen  Victoria  of  Spain  is  a  master- 
piece. The  resemblance  is  lifelike,  and  there  is  a  certain  regal 
grace,  a  certain  fine  simplicity,  which  makes  this  bust  very 
striking. 

Of  quite  another  order  is  the  same  artist's  bust  of  C16o  de 
Merode,  the  dancer.  This  portrait  is  enveloped  in  a  subtle 
and  exotic  atmosphere  which  distinctly  recalls  the  tempera- 
ment of  the  beautiful  model :  the  heavy  hair  is  loosely  drawn 
down  at  either  side  of  the  small  face,  and  twisted  into  a  great 
Greek  knot  at  the  back  of  the  head,  and  the  flat  throat,  which 
is  one  of  M^rode's  most  remarkable  points,  is  modelled  to 
perfection. 

Miranda  is  one  of  the  eminent  Spanish  artists  who  have 

elected  to  spend  much  of  their  time  in  other  countries  than 

their  own.    For  many  years  he  made  his  home 

Mfra,nda°       ^^  America,  and  is  President  of  the  Sculptor's 

Society    of    the    United    States.     Fernando 

Miranda  began  his  career  as  a  black  and  white  artist :   he  was 

an  important  contributor  in  those  days  to  the  Ilustracion 

Espanola  y  Americana,   and  was,   in  this  connection,   weU 

known  in  the  States  long  before  he  took  up  sculpture. 

Amongst  the  finest  works  of  this  eminent  sculptor  may  be 
mentioned  "  El  Espiritu  de  hivestigacion  "  ("  The  Spirit  of 
Research"),  which  stands  in  the  court-yard  of  the  Public 
Library  of  Boston ;  his  beautiful  group,  "  Colon  y  los 
Pinzones "  ;  the  equestrian  statue  of  Washington  which 
occupies  a  prominent  position  in  the  city  of  Newark,  and  his 
colossal  statue  of  "  Fame,"  which  was  one  of  the  most  notable 
features  in  the  St.  Louis  Exhibition. 

This  statue,  "  Fame,"  is  magnificent — in  conception  as  in 
execution.     There  is  a  colossal  female  figure  of  great  beauty, 


Modern  Painters  83 

upon  whose  head  is  bound  a  wreath  of  laurels.  She  is  standing 
in  an  attitude  of  imperious  aloofness  and  her  head  is  partly 
turned  away  from  the  figure  by  her  side,  whose  arms  are 
stretched  up  in  a  vain  attempt  to  snatch  the  treasures 
contained  in  the  casket  which  she  is  carrjnng. 

Senor  Miranda  has  recently  returned  to  Spain,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  he  will  now  settle  down  in  his  own  country,  where 
his  presence  will  be  keenly  appreciated. 

Prominent  in  the  group  of  Catalan  sculptors  are  Miguel 
Blay  and  Gustavo  Obiols.  Both  these  artists  reside  in 
Paris  and  are  well  known  in  the  art  circles  of  the  French 
capital. 

Blay's  career  opened  in  a  very  simple  and  unpretentious 

way.     In  his  native  town  of  Olot,  in  Cataluna,  he  began  by 

making  images  of  saints  for  the  churches  ; 

Miguel  Blay.     after  a  time  his  love  of  work  and  of  close  study 

attracted  the  attention  of  important  persons, 

and  through  their  influence  he  obtained  from  the  Municipality 

a  grant  of  money  which  enabled  him  to  continue  his  studies 

in  Rome  and  in  Paris. 

His  first  great  success  was  made  in  Madrid,  with  a  group 
entitled  "  Los  Primeros  Frios,"  for  which  he  received  a  gold 
medal.  There  is  a  grim  strength  and  breadth  in  the  figure 
of  the  old  man  represented  in  this  group  which  recalls  some 
of  Rodin's  works,  and  from  the  moment  that  the  exceptional 
merit  of  "  Los  Primeros  Frios  "  was  recognised  in  Madrid, 
the  successful  career  of  Miguel  Blay  was  assured.  In  the 
Universal  Exhibition  of  Paris  this  Catalan  sculptor  divided 
with  Benlliure  the  first  prize  in  the  Spanish  Art  section. 

This  sculptor  was  the  founder  of  the  Association  of  Spanish 

Artists  in  Paris,  and  in  connection  with  this  Association  he 

has  done  splendid  work  ;    yearly  exhibitions 

Gustavo  Obiols.  are  held,  in  which  the  productions  of  eminent 

Spanish  artists  are  brought  before  the  French 

public.     Sefior  Obiols  makes  a  speciality  of  the  nude  ;    his 

statues  are  rarely  large,  but  they  are  always  imbued  with 


84  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

vivid  life,  and  their  purity  of  outline  is  wholly  admirable. 

This  artist  resides  entirely  in  Paris. 

Before  closing  this  chapter  on  the  Modern  Painters  of  Spain, 

I  should  like,  once  again,  to  look  into  the  vexed  question  of 

things  "  very  Spanish."     I  have  pointed  out 

The     very      more  than  once    in    this   volume   that  the 
Spanish."  ,  •  ,       r  r  „ 

disappomtments  which  often  seem  to  fall  to 

the  lot  of  visitors  to  Spain  are  the  natural  result  of  a  mistaken 

outlook  in  the  first  instance. 

In  Spain  so  very  many  things  are  "  very  Spanish,"  and  these 
things  differ,  the  one  from  the  other,  in  a  manner  which  is 
nothing  short  of  extraordinary.  It  is  almost  certain  that  nine 
persons  in  ten — I  am  speaking  of  foreigners — would  declare 
Zuloaga  to  be  far  more  Spanish  in  style  than  Sorolla.  Bilbao, 
again,  in  his  Andalusian  and  African  pictures,  would 
probably  supply  what  was  expected,  but  not,  I  think, 
Carbonero. 

In  this  connection,  Mr.  Leonard  Williams  tells  an  amusing 
little  story,  of  which  Don  Joaquin  Sorolla  is  the  hero.  In 
conversation  with  Mr.  Williams,  the  painter  once  said  that 
even  the  best  of  the  French  critics  summed  up  his 
work  somewhat  after  this  style :  "  Senor  Sorolla  is  a 
very  good  painter  :  but  why  does  he  not  paint  Spanish 
scenes  ?  " 

"  WTiat  do  they  want  ?  "  Sorolla  continued.  "  Am  I  to 
perpetrate  for  them  a  modern  Spanish  gentleman  in  a  cheese- 
shaped  hat  and  fringed  leggings  ;  or  a  Spanish  duchess  hanging 
from  a  bull-fighter's  neck  ?  I  can  assure  you  that  I  do  but 
paint  my  country  as  she  is :  my  countrymen  as  they 
are." 

The  little  story  is  sufficiently  amusing,  and  it  indicates 
very  accurately  the  point  of  view  taken  by  many  eminent 
Spaniards ;  nevertheless  the  bull-fighters  still  exist,  and  are 
the  subjects  of  considerable  adoration  ! 

And  at  the  great  Fiestas — notably  at  the  Spring  Fair  at 
Sevilla — many    modern    Spaniards    wear    very    picturesque 


Modern  Painters  85 

costumes  indeed,  and  those  who  have  eyes  to  see,  and  who 

know  where  to  look,  may  to-day  see  types  and  costumes  which 

will  recaU  very  strongly  the  brilliant  pictures  of  Goya  and 

of  our  modern  Zuloaga.  The  whole  fact  of  the 

Picturesque      matter  is,  that  Spain  is  essentially  and  above 

Sevilla  Fair.      ^^  ^^^  land  of  the  unexpected  :   the  land  of 

contradictions ;   the  land — and  perhaps  in  this 

respect  the   Peninsula  is  unique — in  which  things  ancient 

and  ultra-modern   march   side   by  side,    without   apparent 

incongruity. 

Speaking  personally,  I  can  with  truth  say  that  in  my 
wanderings  in  Spain  I  have  chanced  across  the  Spaniards  of 
Sorolla,  of  Zuloaga,  and  of  Bilbao  !  And  I  have  walked  in  the 
silent  gardens  of  Rusifiol !  AU  these  artists  have  painted 
Spanish  scenes  and  types  of  to-day,  and  it  is  absurd  to  say 
that  one  is  "  more  Spanish  "  than  the  other,  for  Spain  is  made 
up  of  a  bewildering  number  of  "  types  "  and  of  human  crea- 
tures possessed  of  a  bewildering  number  of  unexpected 
characteristics. 


7— (2399) 


CHAPTER   IV 

PLAYS  AND   PLAYERS 

With  regard  to  his  amusements,  as  with  most  other  things, 

the  Spaniard  is  very  practical.     He — I  am  now  speaking  of 

the  average  individual — goes  to  the  theatre 

The  Theatres     ^^  -^^   amused   and  entertained,   not   to   be 
01  opa.in. 

instructed.     And    since    he    dines    late    and 

requires,  during  each  evening,  many  moments  in  which  to 

"  pass  the  time  of  day  "  with  his  fellows,  he  demands  that  his 

theatrical  performances  shall  begin  early  and  end  late,  and 

that  they  shall  be  so  arranged  that  he  may  be  able  to  stroll 

into  a  theatre  just  at  the  hour  most  convenient  to  him  ! 

And  really,  when  one  takes  time  to  consider  the  position, 
the  Spaniard's  idea  of  an  entertaining  evening  is  not  incorrect. 
He  does  not  see  why  he  should  be  hurried  over  his  dinner  ; 
nor  does  he  see  why  he  should  be  obliged  to  sit  in  the  same 
position  for  a  couple  of  hours  at  a  stretch  ;  nor  does  he  see 
why  he  should  be  obliged  to  sit  and  listen  when  his  inclinations 
whisper  that  it  would  be  much  more  agreeable  to  stand  and 
talk  !  And  it  is  for  all  these  reasons  that  the  zarzuela  is  the 
favourite  entertainment  of  the  average  Spaniard. 

A  zarzuela  is  simply  a  musical  play,  of  one  or  more  acts, 

and  at  some  of  the  popular  theatres  of  Madrid  four  of  these 

little  pieces  are  played — one  after  the  other — 

ttie^ Zarzuela^  ^^  ^^^  same  evening.  The  managers  of  these 
theatres  aim  at  constant  variety,  and  quite  a 
surprising  number  of  little  pieces  may  be  played  in  a  single 
week.  Generally  speaking,  there  are  four  distinct  perform- 
ances at  such  theatres  as  those  to  which  I  am  now  alluding, 
and  the  prices — for  each  performance — range  from  two  to 


Plays  and  Players  87 

four  reales,  the  real  being  worth  about  twopence-halfpenny. 
For  five  pesetas  one  can  have  a  superb  box  which  will  hold 
five  or  six  persons. 

At  first  this  system  seems,  to  the  foreigner,  very  curious, 
but  a  short  sojourn  in  Spain  brings  out  its  excellent  qualities. 
A  very  pleasant  and  amusing  hour  can  be  passed  without 
serious  expenditure  and  those  who  feel  so  inclined  can  pass 
out  between  the  performances,  spend  an  hour  at  a  cafe  with 
some  friends,  and  then  return  for  another  little  piece. 

For  the  benefit  of  visitors  who  do  not  know  the  country 
well  it  may  be  advisable  to  remark  that — as  a  rule — the 
performances  are  arranged  to  suit  the  requirements  of  special 
patrons  !  Thus  the  more  or  less  "  family  "  pieces  are  put 
on  the  stage  between  the  hours  of  eight  and  eleven  ;  after 
that  the  tastes  of  the  man-about-town  are  considered  ! 

Some  of  the  zarzuelas  given  at  the  Spanish  theatres  are 
really  excellent,  bright  and  amusing,  with  very  effective 
music.  One  of  the  most  successful  zarzuela  writers  in  Spain 
at  the  present  day  is  Joaquin  Valverde,  pere ;  Joaquin 
Valverde,  fits,  is  also  very  clever  and  the  composer  of  the 
Polio  Tejada  and  other  popular  successes,  but  the  elder 
Valverde  is  the  finer  musician  of  the  two,  and  his  career  has 
been  an  interesting  one. 

I  have  mentioned  first  the  theatres  given  over  to  zarzuelas, 

because  these  are  certainly  more  numerous  than  any  others  in 

Spain,  but  it  must  not  be  supposed  from  this 

The  Serious  ^)^^^  ^]^g  Spaniards  are  not  appreciative  of  the 
Spain.  serious  drama.     On  the  contrary,  they  accept 

and  appreciate  plays  which  would  in  England 
be  considered  ultra-serious  and  educational ;  more  than  that, 
many  of  these  plays  are — like  so  many  Spanish  novels — 
exceedingly  long  and  discursive.  Amongst  the  serious 
dramatists  of  Spain  Jose  Echegaray  takes  a  prominent  place. 
By  the  younger  school  he  is  considered  rather  old-fashioned, 
but  he  has  made  for  himself  a  solid  reputation,  and  his  pieces 
never  fail  to  interest  his  own  countrymen,  as  well  as  foreigners. 


88  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

Echegaray  is  a  very  remarkable-looking  man  with  a  noble 
forehead,  keen  yet  kindly  eyes,  a  long  thin  nose,  and  the 
"  goaty  "  beard  which  used  to  be  associated 
Jos6  Echegaray.  with  American  politicians.  In  speaking  of 
Sorolla's  fine  portrait  of  this  Spanish  dramatist 
Mr.  Leonard  Williams  made  the  following  apposite  remark  : 
"  Many  of  the  modern  critics  find  his  (Echegaray 's)  drama 
antiquated  and  unreal.  He  seems  prepared,  upon  this  canvas 
of  Sorolla's,  to  reply  to  such  a  charge.  '  Gentlemen,'  he  seems 
to  say, '  the  world  is  old,  and  I  am  old,  and  even  you  may  some 
day  grow  acquainted  with  the  soothing  scepticism  of  old  age. 
This  earth  of  ours  is  not,  as  fledgling  sages  think,  a  revolu- 
tionary red,  but  simply  grey — just  like  the  colour  of  my 
dramas,  or  my  conversation,  or  my  eyes,  the  background  of 
this  portrait,  or  the  ashes  of  my  cigarette.'  " 

He  is  a  wonderful  old  man,  this  writer  of  plays,  who  is 
also  a  poet  and  a  philosopher,  a  statesman,  an  orator,  a 
mathematician  and  an  inimitable  lecturer. 

Born  in  the  year  1832,  he  early  became  famous  as  a  revolu- 
tionary orator  and  held  office  in  the  short-lived  republic. 
Since  then  he  has  written  many  dramatic  pieces,  some  of 
which  have  enjoyed  great  success  ;  quite  recently  an  adapta- 
tion of  his,  "  El  Gran  Galeoto" — under  the  title  "The  World 
and  his  Wife  " — was  produced  in  New  York,  and  the 
Americans  found  it  entirely  to  their  taste.  In  criticising  it 
a  well-known  New  York  manager  said :  "  There  is  not 
a  moment  of  obscurity  in  the  play,  not  an  instant  of 
heaviness." 

The  plays  of  Echegaray  belong  to  the  romantic  school  of 
yesterday.  He  almost  invariably  arranges  that  virtue  may 
be  rewarded  and  vice  punished,  and  though  his  style  cannot 
be  called  melodramatic,  the  plots  of  some  of  his  best  known 
plays  recall  the  pieces  which  used  to  draw  crowds  to  the 
Adelphi  in  days  gone  by. 

It  has  been  said  that  he  writes  entirely  for  the  great  middle- 
class,  and  it  is  certain  that  by  the  average  individual  he  is 


Plays  and  Players  89 

admired  and  appreciated.  He  sees  life  from  a  serial-story 
point  of  view,  and  as  he  sees  it  so  he  represents  it :  always 
with  effective  dialogue  and  "  situations." 

The  most  successful  plays  of  this  dramatist  are  "  La  Esposa 
del  Vengador  "  ;  "  O  Locura  6  Santidad,"  and  "  El  Gran 
Galeoto  " — the  latter  setting  forth  the  dangers  of  a  three- 
cornered  friendship  between  a  man,  his  wife,  and  a  mutual 
friend.  The  leading  idea  might  be  said  to  be  time-worn,  but 
the  manner  in  which  the  world  regards  friendships  of  this  kind 
is  cleverly  depicted. 

I  have  already  said,  in  speaking  of  the  literary  works  of 

Galdos,  that  this  writer  has  always  held  that  there  should 

be  no  line  of  demarcation  drawn  between  the 

^^clldrs^''^^  novel  and  the  play  ;  that  a  good  book  should 
necessarily  make  a  good  play.  Galdos  has 
been  able  to  put  this  theory  to  the  test,  and  many  times,  since 
the  majority  of  his  plays  have  first  appeared  in  book  form. 
It  was  not  until  1892,  after  he  had  enjoyed  twenty  years 
of  success  as  a  novelist,  that  the  first  play  of  Galdos  was 
produced,  but  since  that  date  he  has  written  a  number  of 
dramas,  each  one  interesting  from  a  psychological  point  of 
view. 

Perez  Galdos  is  at  present,  with  the  exception  of  ]os6 
Echegaray,  the  only  great  dramatist  in  Spain,  and  the  immense 
importance  of  his  work  is  only  beginning  to  be  realised  in  a 
land  where  things  move  slowly  and  in  which  striking  originality 
is  certain  of  a  mixed  reception. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  literary  career  this  writer's  views 
have  never  changed ;  he  has  always  cherished  a  strong  and 
entirely  admirable  purpose,  for  he  has  proposed  to  work,  by 
all  the  means  in  his  power,  for  the  regeneration  of  his  country, 
and — no  less  than  the  poet  Ganivet — he  has  realised  that  this 
regeneration  must  come  from  within  ;  he  has  made  use  of  the 
stage  as  a  sort  of  blackboard  on  which  to  depict  the  causes  of 
the  nation's  decadence  and  the  means,  as  he  sees  them,  by 
which  the  regeneration  might  be  effected. 


90  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

The  defects  personified  in  his  characters  are  the  defects  of 

the  entire  Spanish  race  ;   any  intelhgent  Spaniard  will  admit 

that  caciquismo — or    political    wire-pulling — 

Interesting       j^^s  been  the  ruin  of  the  country  for  the  last 

Plays  of  Gaidos.  century,  and  that  religious  zeal,  pushed  to 

extreme  excess,  is  certain  to  degenerate  into 

fanaticism  and  superstition  in  a  people  already  susceptible 

to  these  defects.     Gaidos  has  plainly  set  forth  these  facts  in 

his  plays,  but  we  must  not,  for  that  reason,  suppose  that  he 

is  a  revolutionary  or  an  enemy  of  religion,  the  truth  being 

that  he  has  simply  preached  the  ideas  which  seemed  to  him 

necessary  for  the  progress  of  his  countr5mien. 

Menendez  y  Pelayo,  the  illustrious  representative  of  Spanish 
Catholicism,  was  at  one  time  strongly  opposed  to  Gaidos'  ideas, 
which  he  considered  heterodox  in  the  extreme,  but  he  has 
since  entirely  altered  his  opinion,  and  has  recognised  the 
necessity  of  opening  up  newer  and  wider  horizons  in  a  country 
which  is  too  much  inclined  to  look  back  to  the  Middle  Ages  for 
inspiration.  It  is  a  notable  fact  that  foreigners  have  often 
been  amazed  at  the  indignation  aroused  in  Spain  by  Gaidos' 
plays,  which  to  them  appeared  quite  nomial  in  tone. 

Abroad  the  public  is  familiar  with  the  point  of  view  of 
Ibsen,  Tolstoy,  and  all  the  modern  Russian  and  Norwegian 
writers,  which  is  simply  the  point  of  view  of  Perez  Gaidos, 
acclimatized  to  the  Spanish  atmosphere. 

The  average  theatre-going  public  in  Spain,  however, 
accustomed  to  dramas  of  a  highly  conventional  and  stereo- 
typed order,  found  itself  obliged  suddenly  to  re-adjust  its 
mental  attitude  and  to  accept  a  standpoint  in  violent  contrast 
to  the  old-established  ideas  consecrated  by  tradition.  Hence 
the  fact  that  many  of  Gaidos'  plays,  which  were  extremely 
successful,  and  which  aroused  the  most  heated  discussions 
in  Spain,  passed  almost  unnoticed  when  represented 
abroad. 

Gaidos'  dramatic  works  present  a  sort  of  cycle  of  psycho- 
logical analyses  :    there  is  a  connection  through  them  all. 


Plays  and  Players  91 

For  example,  "  Los  Condenados,"  produced  in  1894,  resumed 

and  concluded  the  problems  presented  in  "  Realidad  "  (1892). 

In  the  same    way   "  Alma  y  Vida  "    (1902) 

j/^  ^^}^  °^ ,  is  the  natural  conclusion  of  "  Voluntad  " 
AnalysS  (1895).  The  finest  of  aU  Galdos'  plays,  "  El 
Abuelo,"  which  had  a  triumphant  success 
in  Madrid  in  the  winter  of  1904-1905,  is  a  resume  of  all  that 
was  best  in  the  preceding  works,  and  represents  the  dramatist's 
final  affranchisement  from  the  trammels  of  Spanish  tradition, 
since  in  this  play  he  proves  that  humanity  can  triumph  even 
over  that  legendary  heirloom — family  honour  ! 

The  plot  of  this  play  is  remarkable  :  it  is  simple  and  full  of 
emotion ;  the  interest  is  centred  in  a  psychological  problem 
which  makes  one  pause  to  consider  whether  the  great  primeval 
impulses  of  humanity  are  not,  after  all,  of  the  first  importance. 

An  outline  of  the  plot  of  this  play  may  be  given  in  a  few 
words.  An  old  count,  who  was  the  grandfather  of  two 
charming  girls — Nell  and  Dolly, — learns  that  one  of  them  is 
not  the  child  of  his  dead  son.  The  situation  is  rendered 
poignant  by  the  fact  that  he  does  not  know  which  of  the  girls 
has  a  right  to  his  affections :  both  are  equally  charming  and 
lovable. 

The  painful  searching  of  the  old  man  to  discover  this  family 
secret  is  depicted  in  a  masterly  manner  ;  the  audience  is  kept 
on  tip-toe  with  curiosity  and  interest.  At  one  moment  the 
count  is  convinced  that  his  son's  child  is  "  Nell "  ;  then  he 
finds  himself  equally  sure  that  it  must  be  "  Dolly  "  ;  finally, 
he  learns  that  "  Nell  "  is  his  true  grandchild.  The  question 
then  arises  as  to  whether  the  honour  of  the  family  would 
permit  him  to  continue  to  love,  and  show  consideration  for, 
the  stranger  who  has  no  right  to  the  protection  of  his  roof : 
whose  very  existence  is  a  blot  upon  the  family  honour. 

The  old  man's  decision,  that  love  must  triumph  over  every- 
thing, affords  a  beautiful  lesson  in  humanity,  and  one  which 
is  admirably  put  forward  at  the  conclusion  of  the  play. 

The  success  of  this  drama  was  quite  remarkable  in  Spain 


92  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

where  the  theatre  generally  depends  for  its  success  on  striking 
denouements  or  complicated  intrigues. 

A  peculiarity  of  Galdos'  work — which  is  shared  by  other 
Spanish  writers,  notably  Valera — is  that  all  his  heroines  seem 

to  have  been  cast  in  the  same  mould  :    the 
Hwo^^^s        same  type  of  woman,  with  a  strong  tendency 

towards  mysticism  and  a  perfect  passion  for 
renunciation,  appears  again  and  again  in  his  plays.  Isidora 
in  "  Voluntad,"  Laura  in  "  Alma  y  Vida,"  Mariucha  in  the 
play  of  that  name,  and  above  all,  Barbara,  represent  the  same 
emotions  and  the  same  ideals  ;  they  might  one  and  all  be  said 
to  be  symbolic  of  Spain,  with  its  mystic  exaltations  and  its 
profound  melancholy  ;  there  is  an  undoubted  affinity  between 
them  and  the  enigmatic  heroines  of  Ibsen. 

The  play  called  "  Barbara  "  is  of  a  frankly  s5mibohc  nature  : 
the  Spanish  public,  indeed,  demanded  an  explanation  of  its 

symbolism,  and  this  explanation  has  not,  in 
"  Barbara."      my  opinion,  yet  been  given,  unless  we  are  to 

take  it  that  this  play  is  symbohc  of  an  ironic 
form  of  justice.  The  scene  is  laid  in  Syracuse,  in  1815  : 
Barbara,  Countess  de  Termini,  driven  to  desperation  by  a 
brutal  husband,  murders  him.  Suspicion  falls  upon  Leonardo 
de  Acufia — a  hero  of  Wagnerian  type.  Leonardo  secretly  loves 
the  countess  and  is  loved  by  her  ;  he  is  tried  and  condemned 
for  her  crime,  and  in  despair  she  appeals  to  Baddaloni,  the 
Governor  of  Syracuse,  to  obtain  the  release  of  her  lover. 
This  tyrant,  who  appears  to  have  sprung  directly  from  the 
Middle  Ages,  demands  as  the  price  of  Leonardo's  release  that 
Barbara  shall  marry  the  brother  of  her  murdered  husband. 
After  a  futile  struggle  she  accepts  this  marriage  as  the  expiation 
of  her  crime,  and  Leonardo  starts  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy 
Land. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  public  was  left  in  considerable 
doubt  as  to  the  author's  intention  in  writing  this  play,  which  is 
an  astounding  mixture  of  Wagner  and  Shakespeare,  cemented 
together  by  Galdos'  own  curiously  complex  views  of  life. 


Plays  and  Players  93 

Benavente  is  a  dramatist  whose  plays  always  present  points 

of  interest,  but  his  sphere  is  widely  different  from  that  of 

Echegaray  or  even  Galdos.     He  is  chief  in  the 

Benavente       school  of  writers  who  aim  at  giving  their  public 

food   for   thought.      His   plays    are    mainly 

studies  of  social  problems,  and  he  seems  likely  to  found  a 

"  Teatro  Benaventiano,"  since  quite  a  number  of  the  younger 

dramatists  are  following  in  his  footsteps. 

Benavente 's  last  play,  "  Por  las  Nubes,"  threw  an  interesting 
sidelight  upon  the  matrimonial  question ;  it  is  a  tragi-comedy  of 
lower  middle-class  life,  and  depicts,  with  merciless  candour,  the 
disastrous  consequences  of  marriage  without  sufficient  means. 

The  author  has  shown  considerable  courage  in  attacking  this 
question,  which  is  undoubtedly  the  basis  of  much  of  the 
unnecessary  poverty  and  misery  of  the  lower  classes. 

It  is,  hoM'ever,  very  questionable  whether  the  Spanish  public 
is  at  all  prepared  to  appreciate  a  series  of  plays  of  this  class, 
as  its  conception  of  the  office  of  the  theatre  is  somewhat 
behind  the  times.  The  average  Spaniard,  as  I  have  already 
remarked,  does  not  care  to  regard  the  theatre  as  an  educational 
force  :  he  prefers  to  consider  it  as  a  means  of  passing  an 
agreeable  hour  or  two,  and  for  this  reason  the  pioneers  of  the 
modern  drama  do  not  in  Spain  always  find  it  easy  to  obtain  a 
hearing. 

The  "  Teatro  de  Arte  "  of  Madrid  is  of  very  recent  foun- 
dation, and — at  first  sight — it  would  appear  as  though  it  had 
been  organised  on  somewhat  quixotic  lines. 

The  Teatro       since  the  avowed  object  of  its  Director  is  to 

and  Angel       work  dismterestedly  for  the  advancement  of 

Ganivet.         art  in  Spain,  without  aspiring  to  any  other 

recompense  than  the  aesthetic  satisfaction  of 

having  produced  beautiful  works. 

The  "  Teatro  de  Arte  "  will  probably  occupy  in  Spain  very 
much  the  same  position  as  that  occupied  by  the  "  Theatre  de 
rCEuvre  "  in  Paris.  It  will  produce  plays  extremely  inter- 
esting from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  but  not,  necessarily. 


94  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

popular,  and  it  affords  another  instance  of  the  undoubted 
progress  of  modern  ideas  in  the  Peninsula. 

The  "  Teatro  de  Arte  "  began  its  career  with  a  daring 
venture ;  it  produced  Angel  Ganivet's  mystic  play,  "  El 
Escultor  de  su  Alma  " — which  had  always  been  regarded  by 
theatrical  managers  as  quite  impossible,  from  a  dramatic 
standpoint,  and  foredoomed  to  failure  by  reason  of  its 
complicated  symbolism. 

Nevertheless  the  production  of  this  beautiful  work  aroused 
keen  interest,  and,  if  it  was  not  universally  understood,  it 
was  at  least  appreciated. 

The  hero  of  the  play,  Pedro  Martin,  is  the  personification  of 
Ganivet  himself :  a  being  filled  with  infinite  aspirations 
towards  a  higher  and  more  perfect  form  of  existence.  One 
might  easily  imagine  that  the  spirits  of  Calderon  and  Ibsen 
had  joined  together  to  take  possession  of  the  soul  of  Ganivet, 
so  profound  was  his  philosophy,  and  withal  so  purely  Spanish. 
I  do  not  think  I  am  mistaken  in  saying  that,  within  the  last 
centur3^  Spain  has  produced  no  finer  nature  than  that  which 
belonged  to  this  unhappy  poet. 

The  actors  of  the  "  Teatro  de  Arte  "  succeeded,  to  a 
surprising  degree,  in  entering  into  the  spirit  of  the  play  :  the 
difficult  role  of  Alma  was  ideally  presented  by  Anita  Martos, 
who  is  not  alone  one  of  the  most  beautifiil  girls  in  Madrid, 
but  an  actress  of  subtle  talent. 

Spain  cannot  be  said  to  be  rich  in  either  actors  or  actresses. 

Indeed  she  is  notably  wanting  in  dramatic  artists  of  the  first 

rank :     so   much   so,  that  the   moment   one 

Actors  and      mentions  the  serious  drama  to  an  intelligent 
Actresses.  " 

Spaniard   he   invariably   brings   forward   the 

names  of  Maria  Guerrero  and  of  her  husband,  Fernando  Diaz 

de  Mendoza.     Maria  Guerrero  is  so  gifted  that  she  occupies  a 

position  which  is  peculiarly  personal ;  and  she  must  necessarily 

have  occupied  a  like  position  had  she  been  born  in  a  country 

other  than  Spain,  for  she  is  one  of  the  world's  great  dramatic 

artists ;  she  ranks  with  Elenora  Duse  and  with  Sarah  Bernhardt. 


MARIA    GUERRERO 


Plays  and  Players  95 

One  of  Maria  Guerrero's  most  brilliant  successes  was  made 
in  Galdos'  play,  "  Realidad,"  in  which  play  she  interpreted 
the  difficult  role  of  Augusta.  When  the  play  was  first  produced 
the  actress  of  whom  I  am  now  speaking  was  still  too  young 
to  look  the  part,  but  she  attacked  it  with  so  much  enthusiasm 
and  fervour  that  everyone  was  completely  carried  away,  and 
her  reputation  as  a  consummate  actress  became  completely 
established. 

It  was  Maria  Guerrero  who  played  the  role  of  the  heroine  in 

"  The   Duchess  of  Saint-Quentin  " — by  Galdos — when  this 

play  was  hrst  presented  in  Paris,   but  the 

^^"in  Pari"^"  Parisians  disUked  the  play  so  much  that  they 

could  hardly  find  a  good  word  for  the  artists. 

At  that  time  the  plays  of  Perez  Galdos  were  very  little  known 

in  the  French  capital,  and  because  they  were  not  understood 

they  were  not  appreciated.     Later  on,  however,  "  Electra  " 

enjoyed  a  huge  success,  but  this  was  partly  due  to  the  fact 

that  the  Parisians  thought  it  was  written  for  the  purpose  of 

behttling  the  Catholic  Religion  and  of  holding  priests  up  to 

ridicule.     Nothing  was  further  from  the  intention  of  Galdos 

than  this,   but  the  French  public  joined  the  Spaniards  in 

insisting  on  this  reading  of  the  work,  and  the  result  was  a 

sweeping  success — in  both  countries  ! 

Maria  Guen^ero  is  a  very  attractive-looking  woman,  and 
she  possesses  a  wonderful  speaking  voice.  Not  the  "  voice  of 
gold,"  which  used  to  be  the  most  potent  weapon  in  Bernhardt's 
armoury,  but  a  liquid,  exquisitely  sympathetic  voice  which 
can  with  ease  suggest  tears.  Fernando  Diaz  de  Mendoza  is 
an  accomplished  actor,  and  both  he  and  his  gifted  wife  take 
infinite  pains  to  stage  their  pieces  with  exceeding  care  and 
accuracy.  It  used  not  to  be  the  custom,  in  the  theatres  of 
Spain,  to  spend  large  sums  of  money  on  the  staging  of  a  piece, 
but  since  the  Guerrero-Mendoza  era  began  a  regular  reforma- 
tion has  taken  place,  especially  in  Madrid,  and  now  the 
prominent  managers  see  the  necessity  of  falling  into  line  with 
London  and  with  Paris  in  this  most  important  matter. 


96  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

Amongst  the  younger  Spanish  actresses  none  is  more  charm- 
ing than  Matilde  Moreno.  This  artist  is  possessed  of  a  very 
interesting  personahty.  She  is — in  tempera- 
Matilde  Moreno,  ment — an  extraordinary  mixture  of  a  joyous 
child  and  a  serious  woman  whose  outlook  on 
life  is  almost  manlike  !  Exceptionally  well  educated,  she 
is  well  acquainted  with  the  literature  of  many  countries 
besides  her  own,  and  her  happiest  moments  are  passed 
in  her  splendidly-stocked  library. 

It  was  this  actress  who  made,  to  a  great  extent,  the  success 
of  "  Por  las  Nubes,"  by  Benavente,  of  which  I  spoke  earlier 
in  this  chapter,  and  she  has  been  associated  with  many  of  the 
successes  of  Galdos  :  notably  "  Electra  "  and  "  Alma  y  Vida." 

As  an  actress  Matilde  Moreno  is  universally  admired  :    as 

a  woman  she  is  greatly  beloved.     Amongst  her  cherished 

possessions  is  a  certain  album  of  the  "  confession  "  order,  in 

which  very  famous  personages  have  recorded  their  thoughts 

and  opinions  of  the  young  actress.     In  this  album  may  be 

found  the  signatures  of  Juan  Valera,  Perez  Galdos,  Men^ndez 

y  Pelayo,  Nufiez  de  Arce,  Salvador  Rueda,  and  many,  many 

others.     Here  we  find  the  very  last  poem  ever  wTitten  by  the 

poet  Campoamor,  which,   as  it  possesses  unique  interest,  I 

give  in  the  original — 

Es  el  amor  un  galdn 
que  ni  hambre  ni  locura  quiere, 
pues  le  mata  el  mucho  pan 
y  con  poco  pan  se  muere. 

Campoamor. 

In  the  same  book  the  famous  writer,  the  Condesa  de  Pardo 

Bazan,  has  written  a  few  lines  which  are  entirely  characteristic. 

The  Condesa  is,  by  nature,  frank — almost  to  a  fault,  and  she 

has  entitled  her  little  contribution  to  Matilde  Moreno's  album, 

"  Un  rasgo  de  franqueza,"  which,  in  colloquial  English,  means 

something  like  "  a  little  bit  of  my  mind  "  !     On  this  occasion, 

however,  this  "  little  bit  "  embodied  some  very  flattering  and 

graceful  sentiments ! 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   PRESS 

There  are  few  countries  in  which  The  Press  plays  a  more 

important  role   than  in   Spain.     There   everyone   reads  the 

newspapers  and,  in  the  south,  a  great  many 

The  Newspaper,  persons    read    very    little    else.     Hence    the 

immense  influence,  for  good  or  evil,  of  the 

Spanish  Press.    And  it  must  be  recorded  that  it  is,  for  the 

greater  part,  very  dignified  and  interesting :    also,  it  is  often 

very  amusing,  as  Spanish  journalists  are  past-masters  in  the 

art  of  making  remarks  which  may  be  guileless  or — very  much 

otherwise  ! 

They  are  fond  of  telling  clever  little  stories  which  to  ordinary 
readers  seem  nothing  more  than  excellent  "  copy,"  but  which 
are  veritable  parables  to  the  initiated.  And  thus  it  happens 
that  the  Spanish  newspapers  are  often  most  entertaining 
reading,  for  those  who  understand  their  inner  meaning. 

There  are  in  Spain  no  large  newspapers,  as  "  large  "  is 
understood  in  England,  but  nearly  all  the  journals  of  Madrid 
and  of  the  important  provinces  are  well  and  clearly  printed. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  popularity  no  newspaper  in  Spain, 
at  this  moment,  can  vie  with  La  Correspondencia  de  Espana. 
This  journal  has  had  quite  an  eventful  history  and  one  which 
may  be  said  to  be  unique.  It  was  founded  by  the  Marqu6s 
de  Santa  Ana,  one  of  the  shrewdest  of  men  and  an  indefatigable 
worker.  In  its  early  days  it  used  to  be  said  of  the  Corre- 
spondencia that  it  had  no  editor,  no  paid  writers,  and  no 
regular  correspondents ;  that  it  was  supplied  with  news  by 
clever  individuals  who  seemed  to  be  all  eyes  and  ears,  and 
who  got  together,  in  the  shortest  space  of  time,  information 
on  every  possible  subject,  which  information  was  printed  in 
the  paper  just  as  it  came,  without  any  consideration  as  to 


98  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

suitability  or  order.  It  has  even  been  said  that  it  not  infre- 
quently happened,  in  those  days,  that  the  Conespondencia 
made  statements  in  one  column  which  it  flatly  contradicted 
in  another  !  All  this  is  probably  exaggeration,  but  it  is  certain 
that  the  Correspondencia  de  Espaiia  heralded  a  new  era  in  the 
newspaper  world  of  Madrid  and  from  the  very  first  it  took 
possession  of  popular  taste. 

Its  present  director  and  proprietor,  Senor  Romeo,  has 
altered  the  paper  considerably  since  he  came  into  ofhce,  but 
it  still  gives  paragraphs  of  news  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
and  on  every  conceivable  subject.  The  Correspondencia  is 
not  supposed  to  have  any  determined  politics,  but  to  be  the 
organ  of  logical  common  sense.  It  publishes  articles  bearing 
the  names  of  some  of  the  most  brilliant  journalists  in  Spain — 
Ramiro  de  Maeztu  at  their  head — and  it  may  almost  be  said 
to  be  the  Organ  of  To-morrow,  so  up-to-date  is  it  in  every 
respect. 

The  three  principal  newspapers  of  Madrid,  setting  aside  the 
Correspondencia,  are  El  Liberal,  El  Heraldo,  and  El  Imparcial. 
These  three  papers  are  run  by  a  powerful  "  Trust,"  and  each 
in  its  own  way  sets  forth  advanced  views. 

El  Heraldo  de  Madrid  is  the  leading  organ  of  the  democratic 

party.     It  counts  upon  its  regular  staff  many  of  the  most 

brilliant  of  the  younger  section  of  Spanish 

The  Organ  of    writers.     The    Heraldo   makes   a   feature   of 

the  Democratic     ,.     .  , .  ,  ^        .■        ■,  ,  •  j 

Party.  stirrmg  articles  on  educational  questions,  and 

many  of  these  have  been  signed  by  well-known 

professors  and  by  other  persons  interested  in  a  subject  which 

is  just  now  in  possession  of  the  soul  of  Spain. 

The  theatrical  criticisms  of  this  newspaper  are,  as  a  rule, 
admirable,  very  just,  and  written  in  a  tone  which  combines 
serious  criticism  with  a  certain  vein  of  humour  which  is  very 
attractive.  Echegaray  contributes  articles  to  the  Heraldo, 
from  time  to  time,  and  so  does  Jos6  Benavente. 

On  political  subjects  Don  Jose  Canal ej as — the  present 
Prime    Minister — contributes    brilliant,    if    rather    scathing. 


The  Press  99 

articles  :  Don  Luis  Bonafoux  also  signs  articles  on  political 
subjects  in  this  paper. 

The  art  critic  of  the  Heraldo  is  looked  on  as  a  giant  amongst 
his  fellows  ;  certainly  he  is  possessed  of  a  very  ready  pen. 
Everything  written  by  Saint  Aubin  is  of  interest,  but  he  has 
been  gifted,  generously,  with  the  essentially  Spanish  quality 
of  being  able  to  say  very  clever  and  pointed  things  in  the 
most  innocent  possible  manner.  AU  artists  like  to  have  their 
works  reviewed  by  Saint  Aubin,  but  sometimes  they  feel  a 
little  nervous  about  possible  results. 

El  Imparcial  is  a  Liberal  organ,  which  was  founded  by  Don 
Eduardo  Gasset  y  Artime,  who  was  a  Minister  in  the  Moret 
administration.  It  is  a  remarkably  well-edited  paper  which 
publishes  serious  and  thoughtful  articles,  but  unfortunately 
it  is  credited  by  a  large  number  of  Spaniards  with  a  desire 
to  make  of  Spain  what  Waldeck  Rousseau  and  Combes  have 
made  of  France. 

It  could  not  truly  be  said  that  El  Imparcial  is  an  enemy 
of  religion,  but  it  seems  to  show  leanings  in  that 
direction  ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  El  Liberal,  which 
is  published  daily  in  Madrid,  Barcelona,  Bilbao,  Murcia, 
and  Sevilla. 

The  leading  Conservative  organ  is  La  Epoca,  which  was 
founded  by  Escobar,  who  was  afterwards  created  Marqu6s  de 
Valdeiglesias  in  recompense  for  important  services  rendered 
to  the  cause  of  the  Restoration.  The  first  Marques  was  a 
man  of  notable  ability,  and  under  his  direction  this  journal 
took  a  leading  position  in  the  Press  of  Madrid,  but  in  recent 
days  it  has  fallen  out  of  line,  and  though  most  of  the  important 
householders  still  subscribe  to  it,  they  do  so  more  from  habit 
than  from  special  interest.  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be 
conceded  that  the  social  news  of  La  Epoca  is  excellently  chosen. 
The  Diario  Universal,  a  Liberal  organ  of  pronounced  views, 
is  the  property  of  a  young  and  very  interesting  man — the 
Conde  de  Romanones. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Spain  will  have  to  reckon  with 


100  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

the   Conde   de   Romanones  sooner  or  later — and   probably 

sooner  !   He  is  a  Liberal  ex-Minister,  and  it  is  loudly  whispered 

that    he  will   one   day  be  the    chief   of   his 

P^rsonSity.  P^^^y-  ^^  ^^  ^  "^^"  °^  untiring  energy 
and  enterprise,  and  already  he  has, 
by  successful  speculations,  greatly  augmented  the  very 
considerable  fortune  left  him  by  his  father. 

The  Carlist  Party  does  not  now  loom  large  on  the  horizon  of 
Spain,  but  in  the  northern  Provinces  it  is  still  possessed  of 
power,  and  of  this  party  El  Correo  EspaHol  is  the  leading  organ. 

El  Siglo  Futuro  also  puts  forward  Carlist  views,  but  this 
journal  has  lost  much  of  its  influence  owing  to  the  ultra- 
advanced  and  unorthodox  views  of  its  founder  and,  afterwards, 
of  his  son. 

In  the  Republican  Press  there  is  El  Pais  and  El  Motin,  the 
latter  paper  being  edited  by  Nakins,  who  was  imprisoned  for 
having  hidden  and  protected  the  wretched  man  who  threw 
the  bomb  at  the  time  of  the  King's  marriage. 

A  very  popular  little  journal,  belonging  to  the  proprietors 
of  Blanco  y  Negro,  is  A. B.C.  This  journal  is  quite  inde- 
pendent in  its  tone  :  it  professes  no  particular  politics  or 
sympathies,  but  deals  with  all  the  current  events  of  the  day 
in  a  sensible  and  impartial  spirit.  The  "  Powers  that  Be  " — 
of  the  moment — have  no  influence  on  the  policy  of  A. B.C., 
which  strives  to  represent  the  real  interests  of  the  country 
and  people.  A. B.C.  is  not  unlike  the  Daily  Graphic  of 
London,  in  many  respects,  but  it  is  not  so  fully  illustrated  ; 
it  numbers  amongst  its  contributors  many  of  the  best  known 
writers  of  Spain,  such  as  the  Condesa  de  Pardo  Bazan,  Salvador 
Rueda,  Manuel  Bueno,  and  others. 

The  proprietors  of  A. B.C.  also  own  a  weekly  review  called 

Actualidades,  and  a  most  amusing  and  satirical  illustrated 

weekly  called  Gedeon — a  remarkably  cleverly 

'Neero°'^       written  journal  which  systematically  attacks 

the   Government,   no  matter  what    it    may 

be.      They   also   own,    as    I   have   already   said,  Blanco  y 


The  Press  101 

Negro,  which  is  a  real  art  journal  and  beautifully  produced. 
Blanco  y  Negro  is  the  oldest  and  best  known  art  journal 
published  in  Spain.  It  is  remarkably  weU  printed  and 
contains,  each  week,  at  least  two  really  fine  reproductions,  in 
colour,  of  paintings — in  oils,  pastels  or  water-colours  ;  besides 
these  it  has  numerous  black  and  white  illustrations,  stories 
by  the  best  authors,  interesting  articles,  etc. 

A  new  feature  of  Blanco  y  Negro,  and  it  is  one  which  is 
finding  great  favour  in  the  eyes  of  its  subscribers,  is  the  weekly 
reproduction  of  some  famous  picture  of  the  Museo  del  Prado, 
this  picture  coming  out  in  colour  and  forming  a  double  sheet 
of  the  paper.  With  each  of  these  pictures  a  biography  of  the 
painter  is  given  and  further  examples  of  his  work  are  produced 
in  black  and  white.  This  is  an  excellent  feature,  as  it  gives 
foreigners  an  opportunity  of  learning  something  of  the  lives 
and  most  famous  works  of  the  great  Spanish  painters :  and 
this  in  a  specially  interesting  way. 

Many  leading  artists — ^writers,  painters,  and  poets — 
contribute  regularly  to  Blanco  y  Negro ;  amongst  others 
Mariano  Benlliure,  Jose  Moreno  Carbonero,  Jos6  Garcia  Ramos 
and  Emilio  Sala,  Jose  Echegaray,  Ruben  Dario,  the  Condesa 
de  Pardo  Bazan,  etc.,  etc. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  valuable  papers  published 

in  Spain  is  the  illustrated  weekly,  the  Nuevo  Mundo.     This 

journal,  founded  and  directed  by  Don  Jose 

Mundcf^°       ^^^  Perojo,   is  very   serious   in   tone,   in  so 

far  that  it  boldly  attacks  all  the  problems 

which  are  closely  connected  with  the  welfare  of  the  country. 

For  example,  in  the  pressingly  important  matter  of  National 
Education  the  Nuevo  Mundo  has  done  a  really  great  work. 
Don  Jose  del  Perojo  is  not  only  an  enthusiast  on  this  subject : 
he  is  also  an  authority.  He  has  published  a  remarkable  work 
entitled  Ensayos  sohre  Education,  and  on  the  days  of  the  18th 
and  ?.9th  of  last  December  he  pronounced,  in  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies,  important  discourses  on  the  subject  of  National 
Education  in  Spain. 

8— (2399) 


102  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

More  than  this,  the  Director  of  the  Nuevo  Mundo  conceived 
the  excellent  plan  of  inviting  opinions  on  the  subject  of 
education  problems  from  notable  persons  in  all  parts  of  Spain, 
and  many  of  these  opinions  and  ideas  have  been  published 
from  time  to  time  in  his  journal. 

And  all  other  matters  connected  with  the  welfare  of  Spain 
are  treated,  in  the  Nuevo  Mundo,  in  the  same  serious  and 
careful  manner :  an  impartial  view  is  taken  and  personal 
ideas  are  made  to  give  place  to  suggestions  likely  to  benefit 
the  country.  All  the  important  and  interesting  subjects  of 
the  day  are  well  reported  in  the  journal  of  which  I  am  now 
speaking. 

The  Nuevo  Mundo  "  London  Letter  "  is  in  the  hands  of 
Don  Ramiro  de  Maeztu,  and  amongst  its  other  regular  con- 
tributors are  such  able  journalists  as  "  Roger,"  whose  Cronicas 
Catalanas  are  invaluable  to  all  those  interested  in  Catalufia 
and  its  struggles,  Alejandro  Miquis — the  founder  of  the 
"  Teatro  del  Arte,"  "  Andrenio,"  Eduardo  Zamacois,  and 
many  others. 

Of  course  there  are  in  Spain  a  number  of  newspapers  devoted 

to  matters  connected  with  the  bull-fight.      Some  of  these 

papers  are  illustrated,  and  almost  all  of  them 

^^^  ^resl'.^^^*  are  well  and  amusingly  written.  The  bull- 
fight gives  Spanish  journalists  an  excellent 
opportunity  for  bringing  forward  their  talent — and  it  is  a 
remarkable  one — for  saying  satirical  things  in  a  seemingly 
innocent  manner  ! 

I  have  heard  toreros  say  that  the  Fiesta  Nacional  is,  of  the 
illustrated  taurine  journals,  the  best,  but  I  should  personally 
give  my  vote  in  favour  of  Sol  y  Sombra,  which  is  edited  by 
Don  Gines  Carrion,  in  Madrid.  The  various  articles  in  this 
paper,  which  appears  weekly,  are  well  written  and  its  general 
tone  is  one  of  fairness.  Some  years  ago  it  possessed  amongst 
its  most  notable  contributors  Don  Pascual  Millan,  who  was 
one  of  the  greatest  authorities  on  the  bull-fight  Spain  has 
ever  known.      This    writer,    whose    death    was    universally 


The  Press  103 

lamented,  was  a  steadfast  upholder  of  the  methods  of  toreros 
of  the  old  school,  and  he  not  infrequently  dehvered  himself 
of  diatribes  on  the  subject  of  the  Corridas  of  to-day. 

Newspaper  kiosks  are  not  numerous  in  Madrid — as  they  are 
in  Paris, — but  on  glancing  casually  at  the  papers  shown  in 
those  which  do  exist  one  is  at  once  struck  by  the  immense 
difference  in  tone  and  general  appearance  of  the  smaller 
journals  of  Spain  and  of  France. 

It  certainly  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  illustrated 
papers  openly  displayed  in  the  kiosks  of  Paris  are  a  disgrace 
to  the  French  nation.  There  can  be  no 
^l^^""^*.^^  necessity  for  such  a  display  of  blatant  inde- 
cency, and  it  has  long  been  a  matter  of  surprise 
to  intelligent  foreigners,  that  a  nation  so  intelligent  and 
spirituelle  as  the  French  should  continue  to  accept  such  a 
state  of  affairs. 

Happily,  in  Spain  one  sees  nothing  of  this  kind.  The 
smaller  illustrated  journals  are  amusing  and  often  very 
satirical,  but  they  are  neither  gross  nor  indecent.  In  Madrid — 
as  in  London — ordinary  persons  can  walk  out  with  their 
families  without  having  their  eyes  offended  by  the  newspapers 
displayed  in  the  streets. 

Reforms  of  various  kinds  have  recently  been  set  on  foot 
in  connection  with  certain  sections  of  the  Spanish  Press.  It 
has  been  felt  that,  in  some  directions,  it  is  inadequate  for 
modem  requirements. 

For  instance,  a  notable  movement  is  being  made  by  Seiior 

Romeo,  the  Director  of  the  Correspondecia  de  Espana,  in  the 

matter  of  Parliamentary  reporting.     He  has 

Reporting.       initiated  a  movement  in  favour  of  a  better 

system   of  reproducing   the   speeches   made 

during   the   Sessions   of   the   Cortes.     This   reform   is   most 

urgently  needed,  as  frequent  complaints  have  been  made  of 

the  inefficient  and  curtailed  reports  which  appear  in  the  daily 

papers. 

According  to  Sefior  Romeo  the  best  way  to  improve  matters 


104  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

would  be  to  institute  a  staff  of  competent  journalists,  paid  by 
the  Cortes,  who  would  make  an  exact  report  of  all  the  speeches, 
which  would  then  be  published  in  an  official  journal. 

It  is  certain  that  the  present  reports  leave  much  to  be 
desired  ;  the  majority  of  the  papers  publish  most  imperfect 
accounts  of  the  discourses  of  the  country's  representatives. 
There  have  even  been  cases  of  boycotting ;  certain  orators 
have  been  completely  ignored.  Others  have  been  horrified 
by  seeing  their  speeches  utilized  for  the  manufacture  of  a 
humorous  article  by  some  lively  young  reporter ! 

Naturally  the  difficulty  of  this  reporting  must  be  taken  into 
consideration.  Each  Session  lasts  several  hours  :  generally 
four,  sometimes  six — when  a  Budget  is  under  discussion. 
And  one  or  two  journalists  from  each  paper  have  to  report 
the  whole  Session. 

They  are  required  to  make  a  succinct  resume  to  fill  one  or 
two  columns  of  their  paper,  and  as  the  speech  and  the  making 
of  the  resume  run  parallel,  it  will  be  readily  seen  that  the 
diificulties  of  condensation  are  very  great. 

To  make  a  good  report  a  journalist  would  require  a  special 
preparation  in  politics  and  in  parliamentary  history,  an 
indefatigable  power  of  concentration,  and  a  specially 
agile  pen.  Evidently  all  these  qualities  could  not  be 
expected  from  a  reporter  earning  from  25  to  30  dollars 
a  month. 

Besides  this,  the  modern  Spanish  papers  are  never  large, 
and  they  have  to  contain  innumerable  short  paragraphs  on 
diverse  subjects,  many  of  which  are  of  greater  general  interest 
than  the  parliamentary  reports,  which  become  more  and 
more  abridged.  The  proposition  of  Seiior  Romeo,  to  found  an 
official  journal  for  these  reports,  seems  the  only  satisfactory 
solution  to  the  difficulty. 

The  average  Spaniard,  though  a  keen  politician,  is  not 
invariably  interested  in  the  Parliamentary  Sessions.  He 
likes  to  see  them  fully  reported  when  some  question  of  burning 
interest  is  being  discussed,  but  otherwise  he  prefers  that  his 


The  Press  105 

daily  newspaper  should  contain  many  paragraphs  of  ordinary 
news. 

It  is  a  difficult  and  critical  task  for  an  editor  to  decide 
just  which  speech  should  be  reported  in  full  and  which  should 
be  curtailed  ;  and  "  cuts  " — however  cleverly  they  may  be 
arranged — are  often  very  unjust  to  serious  speakers,  for  an 
inadequate  if  not  false  idea  of  the  general  intention  is 
conveyed. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SPORTS   AND   PASTIMES 

It  is  customary,  when  treating  of  "  Sports  "  in  Spain,  to  rush 
forward  the  bull-fight.     And  this  is  comprehensible  because, 

though  it  is  absurd  to  take  for  granted  that 
Sports.         it  is  the  only  sport  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the 

Spaniards,  it  is  certainly  the  sport  of  the 
people.  In  Spain  the  upper  classes  enjoy  very  much  the 
same  sports  as  those  enjoyed  by  people  in  the  same  position 
in  England  and  in  France.  The  men — headed  by  the  King — 
are  enthusiastic  and  skilled  polo  players.  They — again 
headed  by  the  King — are  excellent  all-round  sportsmen. 
Horse-racing  does  not  play  a  very  important  role  in  Spain, 
but  men  and  women  alike  are  really  good  lawn-tennis  players. 
And  then  in  Spain,  though  not  in  the  guise  of  a  national 
sport,   as  in   the   Basque   provinces,   they  have  that  most 

splendid  of  all  games — Pelota.  It  is  difficult 
Pelota.  to  understand  why  pelota  has  never  taken  a 

serious  place  in  the  affections  of  Englishmen, 
for  it  is  as  exciting  as  it  is  picturesque  and  difficult.  In 
watching  a  well-played  match  of  pelota  one's  attention  never 
for  an  instant  wavers :  it  is  rivetted  on  the  players  and  on 
the  flying  ball  from  the  first  second  to  the  last.  In  the  Basque 
provinces — French  as  well  as  Spanish — pelota  and  dancing 
form  the  two  amusements  of  the  younger  generation,  and 
the  Basque  pelota  players  are  marvellously  dexterous. 
Chiquito  de  Cambo  is  the  great  champion  of  the  Basque 
country,  but  Ayestaran  and  Munita  are  Spaniards,  and  almost 
equally  clever  ;  and  then  there  are  very  many  other  notable 
players  who  have  made  their  mark  in  Madrid,  in  Barcelona  and 
in  various  parts  of  Navarre. 


Sports  and  Pastimes  107 

It  has  been  said  that  pelota  closely  resembles  the  Italian 
game  pallone,  but  personally  I  see  very  little  resemblance. 
Pallone  is  played  across  a  net,  or  at  any  rate  across  a  stretched 
cord,  and  the  right  hand  is  covered  with  a  heavy  wooden 
glove,  studded  with  wooden  teeth  and  bound  with  iron. 

Pelota,  on  the  other  hand,  is  played  between  two  high  walls, 
these  walls  being  about  220  feet  apart,  and  the  right  hand  of 
the  player  is  covered  with  a  most  graceful  half-moon  shaped 
chistera,  made  of  fine  basket  work.  At  one  end  of  the  chistera 
there  is  a  sort  of  leather  glove  through  which  the  fingers  are 
passed  and  straps  are  then  tightly  fastened  round  the  wrist. 
Skilful  players  can  twist  these  chisteras  about  in  the  most 
extraordinary  way  :  the  right  hand  only  is  covered,  but  with 
a  quick  movement  of  the  body  and  a  turn  of  the  wrist  every 
corner  of  the  court  can  be  guarded. 

I  cannot  describe  the  game  in  technical  terms,  but,  roughly 
speaking,  a  match  is  played  by  six  players,  three  on  either 
side.  The  ball  is  "  served  "  by  striking  it  against  the  high 
wall  bounding  one  end  of  the  court  and  striking  it  in  such  a 
way  that  it  rebounds  back  amongst  the  players,  within  a 
certain  area.  One  of  the  opposite  party  drives  it  back  and 
so  on.  It  is  easy  to  understand  that  everything  depends  on 
just  how  the  ball  is  taken.  To  the  ordinary  onlooker  all  the 
strokes  seem  very  much  the  same  :  the  impact  of  ball — which 
weighs  about  four  ounces — and  chistera  always  seems  terrific, 
and  yet  sometimes  the  ball  returns  so  softly  that  it  barely 
covers  the  required  line,  and  sometimes  it  comes  back  with 
such  force  that  it  hits  the  opposite  wall ! 

A  favourite  stroke  of  Chiquito  de  Cambo  drives  the  ball 
with  most  amazing  force  against  the  wall,  then  lifts  it  high 
in  the  air,  and  then  causes  it  to  fall  straight,  within  an  inch 
or  two  of  the  second  wall,  behind.  Another  clever  stroke  is 
one  which  seems  ferocious  but  which  carries  the  ball  so  softly 
that  everyone  is  taken  by  surprise. 

In  the  Basque  provinces  it  is  the  custom  to  have  someone 
to  sing — in  Basque — the  score  from  time  to  time. 


108  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

I  am  conscious  that  the  manner  in  which  I  intend  to  deal 

with  the  bull-fight  will  draw  down  upon  me  a  good  deal  of 

criticism,  and  that  probably  of  an  adverse 

The  Bull-fight,    character,  but  I  do  not  intend  to  be  dismayed. 

I  shall  speak  the  truth — nothing  more,  but 

nothing  less — as  I  understand  it.     It  is  always  necessary  to 

clear  the  decks  before  going  into  action,  and  so  I  start  by 

bringing  forward  a  certain  grievance  connected  with  foreign 

writers  on  the  buU-fight — and  by  foreign  I  mean  other  than 

Spanish.     These  writers  very  frequently  not  only  describe 

that  which  they  do  not  see,  but  follow  on  by  making  deductions 

from  that  which  they  do  not  understand. 

I  have  in  my  mind  at  this  moment  a  detailed  account  of  a 
bull-fight  written  by  a  well-known  author  in  which  the  very 
entry  of  the  cuadrillas — which  never,  in  any  circumstances, 
alters — is  inaccurately  set  forth,  from  first  to  last.  The 
picadores  are  described  as  entering  with  their  "lances" — this 
writer's  vivid  imagination  even  seeing  the  sunlight  flash  on 
the  poUshed  steel ! 

The  picadores  never  carry  their  pikes  when  entering  with  the 
cuadrillas. 

Then  the  handerilleros  were  described  as  entering,  bearing 
in  their  hands  their  "  darts  " — quite  in  the  style  of  the  entry 
in  the  last  act  of  Carmen,  at  Covent  Garden  ! 

The  handerilleros  never  carry  handerillas  when  taking  part 
in  the  enirada — except  on  the  stage. 

I  have  picked  out  two  inaccuracies  from  very  many,  and 
they  are  not  really  important ;  nevertheless,  they  help  to  prove 
the  truth  of  my  assertion  that  those  who  cannot  accurately 
describe  that  at  which  they  are  looking,  and  that  which  never 
changes,  have  no  possible  right  to  make  deductions  from  a 
scene  which  they  do  not  understand. 

The  writer  in  question  found  himself  very  much  excited 
by  what  he  called  "  the  blood  lust  "  of  the  multitude,  and  even 
went  so  far  as  to  state  that  the  people  present  at  that  most 
wonderful  bull-fight  were  bitterly  disappointed  to  find  that 


sports  and  Pastimes  109 

one  of  their  favourite  espadas  was  not  actually  killed  before 

their  eyes  instead  of  being  merely  badly  hurt. 

A  Spanish  bronca — in  vulgar  parlance,  a  row — is  a  difficult 

affair  for  a  foreigner  to  understand  ;   especially  a  bronca  in  a 

bull   ring.     And  it  is  a  very  serious  matter 

r?i"*c°^  ^^^T    when  writers — and   there    have    been    many 
of  the  Spaniard.  ,  .        .  17 

who  have  done  this — mterpret  such  broncas 

by  the  light  of  their  own  feelings.  To  write  of  what 
one  does  not  understand  is  foolish,  but  not  necessarily 
harmful ;  but  to  make  deductions  from  what  one  does  not 
understand,  when  such  deductions  present  a  great  people  in 
a  false  and  abominable  light,  is  quite  another  matter.  In  the 
case  to  which  I  have  just  alluded,  the  description  of  the  bull- 
fight formed  part  of  a  story,  and  for  that  reason  it  is  not 
necessary  to  take  it  too  seriously,  as  a  considerable  amount  of 
licence  is  permitted  to  novelists ;  but  again  and  again,  seriously 
and  with  intention,  writers  have  insisted  that  because  the 
average  Spaniard  takes  delight  in  the  bull-fight  he  must  there- 
fore be  grossly  cruel  by  nature.  And  this  does  not  follow. 
He  takes  delight  in  the  bull-fight  because  he  understands  it, 
in  every  detail.  Because  it  is  in  his  blood  to  know  and  appre- 
ciate every  point  gained  or  lost.  Because  he  is  all  the  time 
making  comparisons — with  regard  to  the  bulls,  with  regard  to 
the  toreros,  with  regard  to  the  management  of  the  plaza,  with 
regard — and  this  very  especially — to  the  operations  of  the 
President.  The  cruel  incidents — and  they  are  cruel — are  to 
him  merely  incidents  ;  they  are  not  pleasant,  but  they  are 
necessary,  and  "  blood  lust  "  does  not  prompt  him  when  he 
applauds  a  good  vara,  even  though  the  excellence  of  this  same 
vara  may  have  tempted  the  bull  to  bury  his  horns  in  the 
sides  of  an  unfortunate  horse. 

Everything  depends  on  the  point  of  view  :  of  individuals 
as  of  nations.  The  average  Englishman  goes  to  the  bull-fight 
expecting  to  see  cruelties,  and  these  he  sees — and  little  else. 
The  average  Spaniard  goes  to  the  bull-fight  to  see — if  possible 
— first-rate  fighting  bulls  confronted  with  first-rate  toreros  ; 


110  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

and  if  providence  be  in  a  kindly  mood  he  ventures  to  hope 
that  a  first-rate  President  may  be  thrown  in  ! 

I  know  many  Spaniards  who  deplore  the  cruelty  to  the 
horses  and  who  will  be  truly  glad  if — as  seems  more  than 
likely — changes  can  be  made  which  will  do  away,  to  some 
extent,  with  this  blot  on  an  otherwise  magnificent  sport. 
But  even  with  things  as  they  now  are,  "  blood  lust  "  has 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  call  for  "  mas  caballos  " — 
more  horses — ^which  has  so  often  been  quoted  in  proof  of 
Spanish  cruelty. 

It  is  not  unnatural  that  foreign  writers  should  imagine  that 
this  cry  means  that  the  people  in  the  tendidos  want  to  see  more 
blood  spilt,  because  these  writers — as  I  have  already  said — 
rarely  understand  even  the  rudiments  of  the  science  of  the 
bull-fight. 

The  cry  of  "  mas  caballos  "  really  indicates  that  the  bull 
in  the  arena  is  a  good  fighter,  for  it  is  by  his  attitude  towards 
the  vara — or  pike — that  a  buU  is  judged,  and  this  from  his 
early  youth. 

It  is  necessary  for  the  ganadero — an  owner  of  cattle — to 

test  his  young  bulls  while  they  are  still  running  wild  in  the 

great    fields,  so    that    he    may  know  which 

The  Tienta.  of  them  will  be  sufficiently  brave  to  make 
a  debtit  in  a  first-class  plaza.  And  this  test 
is  made  with  the  garrocha,  or  pike.  If  the  young  bull 
has  the  required  spirit  he  will  return  to  the  charge  after 
having  received  a  vara  ;  if  he  shows  fear  his  chances  of 
appearing  in  public,  in  a  first-class  plaza,  are  at  an  end.  This 
testing  of  the  young  bulls  is  called  a  tienta. 

From  this  little  explanation  it  will  be  seen  that  if  a  bull 
has  received  a  number  of  varas  in  the  ring  and  if  he  is  still 
inclined  to  charge  the  picadores — who  are  the  horsemen — he 
must  be  a  first-class  animal :  hence  the  cries  of  admiration 
which  accompany  the  call  for  "  mas  caballos." 

This  explanation  does  not  make  the  matter  any  pleasanter 
for  the  horses,  but  it  indicates  the  true  feeling  of  the  Spaniards. 


sports  and  Pastimes  111 

And  before  leaving  this  introduction  to  the  often-discussed 
subject  of  the  suerte  de  varus,  the  first  of  the  three  suerfes 
connected  with  the  killing  of  each  bull,  I  must  draw  attention 
to  the  fact  that  some  of  the  most  beautiful  and  finished  work 
of  the  espadas  is  accomplished  at  this  epoch.  And  here  again, 
in  connection  with  this  work,  the  English  and  Spanish  view 
points  clash.  When  the  bull  has  gored  an  unfortunate 
horse  the  eyes  and  imagination  of  the  former  are  rivetted  on 
the  struggling  animal.  At  the  same  moment  the  Spaniard 
is  closely  watching  every  movement  of  the  cloak,  manipulated 
by  the  espada,  which  is  deftly  drawing  off  the  bull  and  enabling 
the  picador  to  regain  his  feet  or  his  saddle.  To  those  who 
understand  the  science  of  the  bull-fight  there  is  nothing  more 
interesting  than  this  particular  play,  which  is  frequently 
very  elegant  and  adorned,  of  the  cloak.  On  the  skill  and 
quickness  of  the  espada  depends  the  safety  of  the  picador,  for 
the  latter  as  often  as  not  falls  right  under  the  horns  of  the 
bull. 

And  while  speaking  of  the  picadores  it  may  be  as  well  to 
record  some  of  the  qualities  which  they  ought  to  possess.  They 
ought  to  be  perfect  horsemen ;  they  ought  to  have  a  profound 
knowledge  of  bulls  ;  they  ought  to  have  quick  eyes,  amazing 
courage,  and  herculean  strength. 

I  have  used  a  great  many  "oughts "  because  the  picadores  of 
the  present  day,  unfortunately,  are  often  lacking  in  many  of 
these  qualities.  Given  a  really  good  picador,  mounted  on  a 
strong  horse,  a  number  of  varas  might  be  given  without 
thp  bull  having  a  chance  of  wounding  the  horse,  even 
once. 

1  have  seen  Agujetas — the  last  of  the  old  line  of  picadores — 

pike  all  his  bulls  at  a  corrida  without  allowing  his  horses  to 

be  seriously  injured.     He  had  strength  and 

^PkaTor"^      knowledge  which  enabled  him   to  push  off 

the  bull   instead  of  allowing  the   latter   to 

roll  over  the  horse,  as  is  so  often  seen  at  the  present  day. 

And  now  that  I  have  set  forth  a  grievance  which  seems  to 


112  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

me  to  be  sufficiently  serious,  let  us  take  a  general  view  of 
a  corrida  de  toros,  from  its  alpha  to  its  omega. 

And  because  Andalusia  is  the  home  of  the  fighting  bulls,  of 
the  most  famous  toreros — past  and  present — and  of  enthu- 
siastic aficionados,  let  us  take  the  Easter  corrida  at  Sevilla  as 
our  example. 

At  Sevilla,  on  the  day  preceding  a  corrida,  the  great  fields 
of  Tablada  loom  large  in  the  minds  of  aficionados,  for  there, 

carefully  enclosed,  may  be  seen  the  fighting 

R^^f  fi^ht*^^     bulls  destined  for  the  morrow's  show.     It  is 

Sevilla.         ^  delightful  drive  to  Tablada,  through  Las 

Delicias — the  "  Row  "  of  Sevilla — and  across 
a  long  road  which  leads  right  into  the  fields. 

All  sorts  and  conditions  of  persons  are  to  be  seen  on  every 
side,  and  at  Tablada  the  toreros  appear  in  a  costume  which 

is    at   once    characteristic    and    picturesque. 
"^T?blada'  ^*   ^°^  example,   "  Bombita  "— who  in  private 

hfe  is  Ricardo  Torres — might  be  seen  in  a 
tight-fitting  suit  of  navy  blue  cloth ;  the  trousers  skin 
tight  over  the  upper  part  of  the  legs  and  rather  loose 
from  the  knees  down.  The  jacket  would  be  of  the  "  Eton  " 
shape  and  decorated  with  braids  and  frogs  in  front,  and  there 
would  be  a  very  neat  little  frilled  shirt,  with  a  low  collar 
and  a  narrow  tie.  Large  diamond  studs  would  be  worn, 
and  probably  several  handsome  diamond  rings.  The  crowning 
point  of  a  costume  such  as  this  is  the  cordobes,  or  fiat-brimmed 
felt  hat,  which  in  the  street  is  invariably  worn  by  everyone 
connected  with  the  bull-fight,  and  also  by  many  southern 
Spaniards  who  are  admirers  of  the  national  sport.  These  hats 
are  shaped  like  an  Englishman's  straw  hat,  but  the  crown  is 
rather  higher  and  the  brim  considerably  wider.  The  cordobes 
is  always  made  of  felt,  and  it  is  to  be  seen  in  several  different 
colours  :  in  black,  brown,  grey,  and  pearl.  A  good  many  of 
the  older  toreros  in  Sevilla  wear  these  hats  of  a  dark  shade 
of  grey  with  the  addition  of  a  black  cloth  band  round  the  crown. 
This  is  very  taurine  but  undoubtedly  ugly  ! 


Sports  and  Pastimes  113 

An  interesting  little  spectacle — though  it  costs  the  onlooker 

a  night's  rest — is  the  encierro.     At  dead  of  night,  when  the 

streets    are    clear,    the   bulls,  surrounded  by 

The  Encierro.  their  cabesfros — oxen  with  large  bells  hanging 
to  their  necks — are  rushed  along  the  road 
to  the  plaza.  They  are  conducted  by  men  on  horseback 
and  the  beasts  are  made  to  travel  at  top  speed. 

It  is  necessary  to  realise  that  nothing  can  be  done  with  the 
fighting  bulls  without  the  aid  of  their  own  special  cabestros. 
These  great  animals  they  know  and  are  accustomed  to,  and 
these  they  will  follow — as  a  rule.  But  the  cabestros  of  one 
ganaderia  could  not  conduct  the  bulls  belonging  to  another. 
I  remember,  two  years  ago,  at  Se villa,  some  awkwardness 
arising  out  of  this  peculiarity.  There  was  a  gala  corrida,  at 
which  six  picked  bulls,  chosen  from  different  ganaderias,  made 
their  appearance.  And  it  was  necessary  to  have  six  separate 
encierros,  at  different  hours  of  the  night,  otherwise  bulls  and 
cabestros  would  have  quickly  become  entangled  in  most  furious 
warfare. 

And  then  there  is  yet  another  little  ceremony  before  the 
moment  comes  for  the  plaza  to  open  its  doors. 

On  the  morning  of  the  corrida  the  apartado  takes  place  ; 
or  in  other  words,  the  placing  of  the  fighting  bulls  in  their 
separate  toriles,  ready  for  the  afternoon.  The  toreros  attend 
this  ceremony  and  so  do  many  aficionados. 

The  Plaza  de  Toros  at  Sevilla  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque 
in  Spain.  It  is  very  wide  and  low,  and,  when  full  to  over- 
flowing for  the  Easter  corrida,  it  presents  an 
Toro^^  appearance  of  brilliant  colour  not  easily  for- 
gotten. The  photograph  here  entitled,  "  Entry 
of  the  Cuadrillas,"  does  not  show  the  plaza  at  Sevilla  ;  it  is 
a  view  of  the  plaza  at  Pampeluna,  and  I  specially  chose 
it  as  in  this  plaza  Pablo  Sarasate,  year  after  year,  enjoyed  a 
great  triumph.  Sarasate  was  a  native  of  Pampeluna  and  never 
failed  to  visit  his  old  home  at  the  time  of  the  fiestas,  each  year. 
In  this  photograph  the  cuadrillas  are  saluting  the  palco  of  the 


114  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

President,  and  it  was  in  this  palco,  or  box,  that  the  magni- 
ficent viohnist,  who  was  so  dear  to  all  our  hearts,  used  to 
occupy  the  place  of  honour. 

There  should  be  noticed  the  distinct  line  dividing  the  part 
of  the  plaza  which  is  in  shadow  from  that  which  is  in  full 
sunlight.  From  this  will  be  realised  the  necessity  of  having 
places  in  the  sombra  side !  And  this  difference  between 
sunshine  and  shadow  in  the  plaza  de  toros  has  supplied  a  name 
for  the  best  known  taurine  newspaper  in  Spain — Sol  y  Sombra. 
The  seats  at  the  sol  side  belong  specially  to  the  people  as  they 
are  cheaper  than  those  on  the  sombra  side. 

For  los  toros  the  Spanish  women,  especially  in  Sevilla,  wear 

white  mantillas  over  their  hair  and  shoulders  and  quantities 

of  flowers.     They  also  exhibit  their  gorgeous 

Spanish  ^Women  mantones    de    Manila,    which    I    shall    fully 

Bull-fight.  describe  a  little  later  on,  when  speaking  on 
the  subject  of  dancing.  They  do  not  wear  these 
mantones,  but  bring  them  for  the  purpose  of  spreading  them 
out  over  the  front  of  their  palcos,  or  boxes.  These  exquisite 
shawls  are  very  decorative,  and  they  are  richly  embroidered 
in  a  thousand  and  one  different  colours.  The  effect  is  rarely 
lovely  when  a  group  of  pretty  women,  in  white  lace  mantillas, 
with  crimson  carnations  pressing  forward  curls  of  dark  hair 
at  one  side,  lean  their  shapely  arms  on  the  mantones  de  Manila, 
which  have  been  thrown  carelessly  over  the  front  rail  of  the 
palco.  And  when,  a  little  later  on,  some  favourite  espada 
sends  his  superb  embroidered  satin  cloak  to  this  palco  or  that, 
to  be  taken  care  of,  a  double  effect  is  obtained,  for  custom 
dictates  that  such  a  capa  must  be  spread  out  over  the  front 
of  the  box,  so  that  its  gold  embroideries  may  mingle  with 
the  silken  fringes  of  the  manton  underneath. 

The  entry  of  the  President,  whose  palco  is  next  to  that  of 
the  King,  is  the  signal  for  the  performance  to  begin,  and  it 
is  necessary  to  pause,  just  for  a  moment,  to  consider  the  duties 
and  power  of  this  personage. 

In  taurine  circles  there  are  two  sets  of  individuals  who  are 


sports  and  Pastimes  115 

nearly  always  said  to  be  in  the  wrong :  the  picadores  and  the 
presidents !  Of  the  picadors  I  have  already  said  enough, 
but,  in  all  fairness,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  position  of 
president  at  a  corrida  of  importance  is  not  an  altogether  agree- 
able one.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  the  President  who  decides 
the  exact  moment  at  which  each  suerte  must  come  to  an 
end.  It  is  he  who  decides  the  number  of  varas  that  each  bull 
requires,  and  the  moment  when  he  has  had  enough  of  the 
suerte  de  banderillas,  etc.  And  from  the  President's  decision 
there  is  no  escape. 

At  first  sight  his  office  may  seem  simple  enough,  but  it  is  not 
so  in  reality,  for  he  has  to  deal  with  a  variety  of  different 
elements.  The  ganadero,  naturally,  wishes  justice  done  to 
his  buUs,  and  he  has  his  own  ideas  as  to  the  desirable  length  of 
each  suerte.  The  toreros  have  their  reputations — not  to 
mention  their  fives — to  consider,  and,  again  naturally,  they 
have  their  ideas  on  the  same  subject.  And  last — but  not  by 
any  means  least — the  ideas  of  12,000  or  14,000  aficionados 
have  to  be  heard,  if  not  considered  ;  for  Spaniards  have  fine 
carrying  voices,  and  the  most  delightful  occupation  in  hfe 
is  to  "  tor  ear  from  the  tendidos  !  " 

The  entry  of  the  cuadrillas  has  often  been  described,  and 

a  very  fair  idea  of  the  spectacle  can  be  gained  from  a  close 

inspection   of   the   photo   here    given.     The 

The  En^y  of     alguaciles,     who    wear    velvet    cloaks    and 

feathered    hats,    come    first,    on    horseback. 

Then  the  espadas — followed  in  line  by  their  handerilleros — 

and  then  the  picadores,  on  horseback.     Each  one  salutes  the 

President :    the  alguaciles  receive  the  key  of  the  bull's  toril, 

which  is  thrown  down  to  them  from  the  President's  box  and 

disappear  :    the  toreros  exchange  their  gorgeous  satin  capas 

for  others  of  more  ordinary  material,  and  take  up  positions 

to  await  the  arrival  of  the  buU. 

And  here  I  think  it  will  be  interesting  to  say  a  few  words 
about  the  costumes  worn  by  the  toreros,  for  it  is  impossible 
to  imagine  any  more  beautiful  or  becoming  dress. 


116  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

The  costume  of  the  espadas  closely  resembles  that  of  the 
banderilleros,  but  it  is,  as  a  rule,  very  much  richer  and  more 
expensive.  These  costumes  consist  of  three  garments  :  the 
short  jacket — or  chaquetilla  :  the  waistcoat — or  chaleco,  and 
the  knickerbockers — or  taleguillas. 

On  looking  at  the  portrait  of  Machaquito  it  will  be  found 
easy  to  follow  this  description. 

All  these  three  garments  are  made  of  rich  satin,  or  silk, 
in  beautiful  shades  of  rose-pink,  turquoise,  violet,  tabac, 
emerald,  pearl-grey,  white,  etc.,  and  they  are  exquisitely 
embroidered  in  gold  or  silver.  The  best  traje  de  luces  are  made 
in  Madrid  at  a  cost  of  1,000  pesetas — £A0 — or  more. 

And  then  there  is  the  superb  capote  de  paseo,  a  large  round 

cape  worn  on  entering  and  leaving  the  arena,  also  made  of  satin 

and  heavily  embroidered  in  gold  ;   frequently 

T^ft- ^^^""^^^    little    jewels    are    introduced    amongst    the 
of  the  Toreros.         ,.■•,.  .       ,  i       i     ■ 

embroideries    of    these    capotes,    and    their 

average   cost  is  another  1,000  pesetas.     The  torero's  hat — 

or  montera — is  a  picturesque  arrangement  of  black  velvet 

and  chenil,  which  costs  about  £4,  and  as  there  is  also  a  wide 

waistband  of  silk — the  faja — which  measures  at  least  four 

yards,  the  entire  cost  of  a  costume  worn  in  the  arena  cannot 

come  to  much  less  than  £100.      I  give  these  figures  because 

the  word  tawdry  has  sometimes  been  applied  to  the  torero's 

dress,  and  it  is  inapplicable. 

When  everyone  is  in  his  place  and  when  the  President  gives 
the  signal,  the  door  of  the  toril  is  opened  and  the  first  bull 
rushes  into  the  arena.  And  from  this  moment  the  whole 
attention  of  the  toreros,  especially  of  the  espadas,  is  directed 
on  the  animal.  What  may  be  his  temper,  his  character,  his 
peculiarities  ?     For  the  difference  between  buUs  is  amazing. 

Just  to  take  a  few  examples  of  different  aptitudes  :  the  bull 
which  has  entered  the  ring  may  be  boyante,  which  means  that 
he  will  be  brilliant  and  easy  to  torear.  Or  he  may  be  de 
sentido,  which  means  that  he  will  be  cunning,  what  the  toreros 
call "  un  hicho  de  cuidao."     Or  he  may  be  bravucon,  which  means 


Sports  and  Pastimes  117 

that  he  will  attack  willingly  but  without  resolution,  and  also 
that  he  will  attack  the  man  rather  than  the  cloak. 

There  are  very  many  other  differences  of  character,  but  we 
must  pass  on  to  differences  of  eyesight — a  point  of  enormous 
importance.  Many  bulls  have  defective  eyesight,  and  these 
animals  are  called  huniciegos :  amongst  such  bulls  as  these 
there  are  many  classes.  Bulls  that  see  well  at  a  short  distance  : 
bulls  that  see  well  at  a  long  distance  :  bulls  with  uneven  sight 
— one  eye  good  and  the  other  defective,  etc.,  etc. 

An  intuitive  knowledge  of  bulls  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
gifts  the  gods  can  bestow  on  a  torero.  Rafael  Guerra  possessed 
it  to  an  extraordinary  degree.  It  used  to  be  said  that  the 
moment  Guerra  saw  a  bull  entering  the  arena  he  knew  pretty 
well  everything  there  was  to  be  known  about  it. 

At  the  risk  of  delaying  too  long  at  the  very  beginning  of  the 
corrida  I  should  like  to  say  a  few  words  on  the  subject  of  a 
very  famous  breed  of  bulls,  whose  peculiarities 
The  Miura  Bulls,  have  recently  set  the  taurine  circles  of  Spain 
by  the  ears.  And  these  are  the  bulls 
belonging  to  the  ganaderia  of  Don  Eduardo  Miura  of  Sevilla. 
So  peculiar  is  the  temper  of  the  miuras  that  "  trusts " 
have  been  brought  into  existence  because  of  them,  and  the 
newspapers  have  been  full  of  the  pros  and  cons  of  the  case. 
With  these  "  trusts  "  we  are  not  here  concerned,  but  the 
temper  of  the  miuras  is  worthy  of  study.  They  are  individual- 
ists of  an  exaggerated  order  !  Each  bull  seems  possessed  of  a 
strong  personal  character.  He  may  be  splendidly  brave,  or 
cranky  beyond  words,  or  sullen  or  frankly  devilish.  And  it 
is  because  of  the  individuality  of  these  particular  bulls  that 
the  aficionados  always  speak  of  a  miura  corrida  with  excitement 
and  delight,  even  though  the  miura  corridas  are  rarely  specially 
brilliant.  They  are  interesting  to  those  who  understand  the 
game  because  ordinary  tactics  are  of  little  use,  and  even  the 
most  experienced  torero  cannot  hope  to  know  what  a  miura 
may  take  it  into  his  head  to  do  at  any  moment  and  in  any 
circumstances. 

9— (2399) 


118  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  suerte  de  varus,  the  first  of  the 
three  suertes  necessary  for  the  kilhng  of  each  bull,  but  I  have 
not  described  it  exactly.  This  suerte,  which  is  interesting  to 
the  Spaniard  because  of  the  great  demands  it  makes  on  the 
toreros,  is  invariably  offensive  to  foreign  eyes  :  and  it  could 
not  be  otherwise. 

The    picadores — generally   three — mounted    on    wretched 

horses,  are  placed  at  regular  points  round  the  arena  and  each 

one  in  turn  comes  forward  and  does  all  in 

The  "  Suerte  j^-^  pQ^gj-  ^q  induce  the  bull  to  attack  him. 
The  man  gets  his  long  pike  firmly  into 
position  under  his  arm  and,  leaning  forward,  taunts  the  bull. 
When  the  animal  charges,  the  picador  pikes  him  in  the  shoulder 
and — when  he  can — pushes  the  animal  off.  What  really 
happens,  nine  times  in  ten,  is  that  the  bull  gores  the  horse 
and  throws  it  down,  the  picador  frequently  getting  a  most 
dangerous  fall.  At  this  moment  the  espada  skilfully  draws 
off  the  bull  with  his  cloak,  and  the  picador  is  lifted  to  his 
legs  and,  if  the  horse  is  not  too  badly  injured,  into  his 
saddle. 

The  cruelty  of  this  suerte  is,  in  some  bull  rings,  greatly 
diminished  by  the  fact  that  the  horses  are  instantly  killed 
when  they  are  badly  injured.  And  most  emphatically  there 
ought  to  be  a  law  commanding  this  to  be  done — always. 
With  the  puntilla,  or  short  dagger,  the  horse  can  be  put  out 
of  pain  in  a  moment,  and  there  is  no  acceptable  reason  why  a 
little  money  should  be  saved  at  the  expense  of  a  wounded 
animal. 

As  I  have  already  said,  a  good  picador  can  do  much  to  shield 
his  horse  ;  but,  unhappily,  nowadays  good  picadores  are  few 
and  far  between. 

When  the  President  thinks  that  enough  varas  have  been 
given — three  is  an  ordinary  number — ^he  waves  his  hand- 
kerchief and  a  bugle  plays  the  camhio  de  suertes.  The  picadores 
leave  the  ring  and  the  moment  has  come  for  the  suerte  de 
handerillas,  the  most  graceful  and  attractive  part  of  the  whole 


Sports  and  Pastimes  119 

performance.  In  this  suerte  the  espadas  take  no  part :  they 
stand,  or  sit,  at  the  barriers  and  wait  for  the  final  scene. 

The  handerillas,  which  are  handed  in  over  the  barriers  when 
required,  are  wooden  sticks  of  about  65  centimetres  in  length, 
covered  with  lengths  of  coloured  paper,  and  having  at  one 
end  an  enlarged  fish-hook. 

These  wooden  sticks  have  to  be  placed,  perfectly  S3mi- 
metrically,  in  pairs  and  as  close  together  as  possible  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  bull. 

The  suerte  de  banderillas  is  one  of  great  difficulty  and  of 
exceeding  grace.  The  bull  is  in  swift  motion,  and  the  man 
is  obliged  to  approach  very  close.  There 
de^BanderiUas^ "  ^^^  many  different  methods  of  planting  the 
handerillas.  A I  cuarteo  is  the  most  usual, 
although  it  is  only  possible  when  the  bull  is  specially  brave, 
and  the  quiehro  is  the  most  difficult. 

To  banderillear  al  cuarteo  the  man  stands  at  a  certain 
distance  in  front  of  the  bull  and  calls  the  animal's  attention. 
As  soon  as  the  bull  has  seen  him  they  both  start  running, 
the  bull  in  a  straight  line  and  the  man  in  a  semicircle.  At 
the  moment  of  meeting,  the  bull  lowers  his  head  to  toss,  and 
the  banderillas  are  firmly  planted. 

In  the  quiehro — which  was  invented  by  the  great  Gordito — 
the  man  stands  perfectly  still,  his  feet  together,  sometimes  on 
a  handkerchief :  he  attracts  the  attention  of  the  bull  by 
bending  forward  on  one  side  and  when  the  furious  animal 
rushes  in  this  direction  he  quickly  stands  upright  and  plants 
the  handerillas  as  the  animal  passes.  Other  usual  methods 
of  planting  the  handerillas  are  la  media  vuelta,  al  recorte,  and 
defrente. 

In  connection  with  the  suerte  de  handerillas  it  is  clear  to  me 
that  one  important  change  ought  to  be  made.  Banderillas 
de  fuego  ought  never  to  be  used.  These  handerillas  have  a 
sort  of  firework  arrangement  attached  to  them,  and  they  are 
used  sometimes  when  a  bull  is  completely  manso,  or  cowardly. 
That  is  to  say,  when  he  has  refused  to  charge  the  picadores. 


120  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

These  banderillas  may  fairly  be  said  to  be  relics  of  barbarism, 
but  it  is  not  necessary  to  attack  them  on  the  grounds  of 
cruelty,  for  it  is  perfectly  evident  that  they  are  useless  and 
unfair.  Unfair  to  the  bull,  to  the  toreros,  to  the  manager  of  the 
plaza,  and  to  the  audience. 

In  going  to  a  bull-fight  one  pays  to  see  good  fighting  bulls. 
Now  banderillas  de  fuego  never  yet  made  a  good  fighting  bull 
of  a  toro  manso.  They  turn  him  into  an  evil-tempered  beast, 
savage  or  sullen  according  to  his  nature.  And  such  an  animal 
is  a  great  source  of  danger  to  the  toreros,  besides  being  a  most 
unpleasant  spectacle  for  the  onlookers. 

In  my  opinion  if  a  bull  turns  out  to  be  manso — sufficiently 
so  to  call  for  banderillas  de  fuego — he  should  be  conducted  out 
of  the  ring  by  the  cabestros  and  another  bull  substituted — 
at  the  expense  of  the  ganadero.  It  would  be  hard  on  the  latter, 
certainly,  but  obviously  he  is  the  only  person  who  has  any 
way  of  knowing  the  qualities  of  a  bull  which  he  himself  has  bred. 

When  the  arena  is  cleared  for  the  final  scene,  the  suerte  de 

matar,  the  espada  stands  underneath  the  palco  of  the  King 

or  President,  and  makes  a  little  speech  in 

The  Suerte  de    ^^^^i  he  dedicates  his  bull.     The  final  words 
Matar. 

of  this  chapter  will  give  an  idea  of  this  classic 

dedication  !     He  then  throws  his  montera  over  the  barriers, 

and  slowly  advances,  muleta  and  sword  in  hand,  towards  the 

animal.     The  muleta  is  a  large  piece  of  red  cloth  folded  in 

two  and  draped  over  a  stick  ;  it  is  practically  a  large  red  flag. 

The  muleta  is  used  to  concentrate  the  attention  of  the  bull 

on  the  espada,  and  various  "  passes  "  are  intended  to  bring 

the  animal  into  proper  conditions  for  the  death-stroke. 

To  the  unaccustomed  eye  the  passes  of  the  muleta  all  seem 

very  much  alike.     But  in  reality  very  much  depends  on  just 

how  these  "  passes  "  are  made.     It  is  for  the  espada,  who 

by  this  time  ought  to  know  his  bull,  to  decide  whether  little 

or  much  of  the  red  cloth  is  to  be  presented  to  the  bull :  whether 

the  muleta  is  to  be  withdrawn  under  his  head  or  over  his  horns  ; 

whether  it  is  to  be  withdrawn  quickly  or  slowly.     Each  "  pass  " 


Sports  and  Pastimes  121 

has  some  particular  effect  on  the  animal,  and  if  the  right  ones 
be  not  chosen  the  estocada,  or  final  stroke  of  the  sword,  will 
not  be  a  brilliant  one. 

The  first  and  simplest  of  these  movements  of  the  muleta  is 
the  pase  natural.  The  most  complicated  and  dangerous  is  the 
pase  de  pecho.  In  all  the  passes  of  the  muleta  the  torero  ought 
to  stand  very  close  to  the  bull  and  as  motionless  as  possible. 

If,  unfortunately,  he  should  show  an  inclination  to  draw  back 
or  to  move  aside,  a  thousand  voices  remind  him  of  the  fact 
that  "  dancing  "  is  out  of  place  in  the  bull  ring ! 

At  the  moment  when  the  espada  considers  the  bull  in  a 
favourable  position  for  the  estocada,  nothing  remains  for  him 
except  to  give  the  death-blow — and  to  give  it  correctly.  And 
here  lies  the  difiiculty  ! 

For  it  is  not  merely  a  case  of  killing  the  bull ;  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  that  it  should  be  killed  according  to  mle.  Of  all 
the  estocadas — and  there  are  many — the  most  difficult  is  the 
recibiendo.  The  man  stands  perfectly  motionless,  holding  the 
sword  on  a  level  with  the  shoulders  of  the  bull :  he  attracts 
the  animal  with  the  muleta,  with  the  left  hand,  and  allows 
it  to  run  on  the  sword. 

The  extreme  difficulty  of  this  estocada  can  easily  be  under- 
stood, and  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  torero  of  the  present  day 
who,  almost  alone,  excels  in  it  is  a  young  sevillano  named 
Martin  Vasquez.  This  torero,  who  has  only  lately  entered  the 
arena,  is  a  native  of  Alcala,  a  picturesque  village  outside  Sevilla, 
and  he  is  considered  one  of  the  best  of  the  younger  generation. 

Of  all  the  toreros  now  before  the  public  the  two  most  popular 

are  Bombita  and  Machaquito,    both  quite  young  and  both 

remarkably     clever     at     their     profession. 

Two  Toreros.  Bombita,  who  has  a  small  and  rather  mis- 
chievous face,  has  been  called  "  the  smiling 
torero,"  and  very  recently,  in  an  interview  recorded  in  a 
Parisian  newspaper,  he  stated  that  he  himself  attributed  his 
popularity  to  his  "  camomile  and  perpetual  smile  "  !  He 
declares  that  he  drinks  a  glass  of  camomile  tea  before  each 


122  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

corrida,  and  that  he  finds  it  has  a  most  soothing  effect  on  his 
nerves ! 

But  Bombita's  popularity  does  not  depend  on  his  smile, 
nor  even  on  his  camomile  !  Not  only  is  he  a  complete  master 
of  his  profession,  but  he  is  the  best  of  good  comrades  and  a 
tireless  worker.  When  Bombita  is  in  the  bull  ring  he  is  always 
at  work  and  he  has  aptly  been  called  "  Providencia  en  traje 
de  luces,"  for  again  and  again  the  lives  of  his  companions 
have  been  saved  by  his  skilled  "  passes  "  of  the  cloak.  His 
elder  brother  Emilio  was  a  famous  torero,  and  now  his  younger 
brother  Manolo  is  rapidly  coming  to  the  front. 

Machaquito  looks  little  more  than  a  boy,  and  yet  he  is  one 

of  the  two  most  notable  toreros  of  the  present  day.     He  is 

remarkably  expert  in  all  the  branches  of  his 

Machaquito.  profession,  but  in  the  suerte  de  matar  he  stands 
pre-eminent.  His  estocadas  are  frequently 
magisterial. 

Machaquito  is  married  to  a  rarely  lovely  girl,  one  of  whose 
parents  is  English,  and  he  has  a  beautiful  home  at  Cordova. 

With  the  retirement  of  Antonio  Fuentes  the  bull  rings  of 
Spain  lost  a  picturesque  figure.  Fuentes  is  a  remarkably 
attractive  looking  man,  with  a  svelt  figure  and  a  classic  head. 
He  is  an  arbiter  of  elegance  in  matters  of  dress,  and  travels 
en  prince  in  one  of  his  big  automobiles. 

The  retirement  of  a  well-known  torero  is  quite  an  event  in 
taurine  circles,  and  to  a  man  who  has  long  lived  in  an 
atmosphere  of  adulation  the  moment  of  cutting  off  the  coleta 
must  be  a  bitter  one.  I  have  alluded  to  this  coleta  in  another 
part  of  the  chapter,  but  it  may  interest  my  readers  to  know 
that  it  is  a  small  plait  of  hair,  grown  on  the  back  of  the  head, 
rather  high  up.  It  is  a  sign  by  which  bull-fighters  may  always 
be  known,  and  when  once  it  is  cut  off  their  public  career  is 
at  an  end. 

And  now,  having  given  some  idea  of  what  the  bull-fight 
means  to  the  Spaniards,  I  should  like,  for  a  few  moments, 
to  review  one  or  two  salient  points  connected  with  it. 


Pholo  hv 


MACHAyUITO 


Sports  and  Pastimes  123 

To  begin  with,  let  it  be  accepted  that  it  is  crael.     Very 

cruel.     This  is  the  bare  truth.     But  is  not  all  sport  cruel  in 

which  animals  are  harried,  and  hunted,  and 

Cruel  P^*^      wounded    and    killed  ?     Not    necessarily    so 

cruel  as  the  bull-fight,  you  wiU  probably  say — 

and  with  reason — but  these  things  ought  not  to  be  looked  at 

from  the  point  of  view  of  a  human  creature's  feelings,  but 

from  the  actual  sufferings  of  individual  animals. 

At  this  moment,  however,  I  am  not  considering  the  matter 
from  a  humanitarian  point  of  view  at  all.  I  am  simply 
saying  to  myself  and  to  you  :  "  What  would  happen  in 
Spain  if  the  bull-fight  were  done  away  with  ?  "  And  to 
arrive  at  anything  like  an  adequate  answer  to  this  question 
we  must  [ook  plain  facts  straight  in  the  face. 

First  of  all,  we  must  accept  the  fact  that  a  vast  majority  of 
the  Spanish  people  are  dependent  on  the  bull-fight  for  amuse- 
ment All  through  the  spring  and  summer  seasons  the  huge 
plazis  de  toros  in  every  town  and  city  of  Spain  are  constantly 
filled  with  thousands  and  thousands  of  persons  who  know 
every  turn  of  the  game,  who  understand  and  love  the  bull-fight 
^r  better  than  the  average  American  understands  base-bah 
or  the  average  Englishman  cricket  or  football.  And  these 
enormous  crowds  can  spend  two  or  three  hours  in  a  bull  ring, 
on  the  hottest  day  of  summer^and  summer  in  Spain — without 
drinking  anything  but  water.  The  amount  of  water  drunk 
in  a  plaza  de  toros  during  a  bull-fight  has  to  be  seen  to  be 
believed.  Here  and  there  a  man  may  be  seen  carrying  round 
a  tray  which  contains  glasses  of  light  beer,  but  "  Agua,  quien 
quiere  agua,"  is  the  cry  heard  on  every  side. 

I  think  if  the  apostle  of  temperance  of  my  own 
country  came  back  to  this  world  and  attended  a  bull- 
fight    he     would     find     more      cause     for 

Absence  of      thankfulness    than  for    reproach,    for    the 

Drunkenness  and       , .        ,  ,       r  o      •        i 

Rowdyism.      national    sport   of  Spam    does   not   encour- 
age,   or    lead    to,  drunkenness,   or  rioting, 
or  rowdyism. 


124  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

And  then  there  is  another  fact  which  must  be  faced.  The 
bull-fight  is  one  of  the  very  few  sports  which  do  not  encourage, 
or  lead  to,  gambling. 

Neither  does  it  encourage,  or  give  birth  to,  the  immoral 
practices  which  surround  horse-racing.  It  is  brutal,  but  it  is 
"  on  the  square  "  ;  in  connection  with  the  buU-fight  "  pulling  " 
is  unknown  ;  no  one  has  ever  accused  anyone  of  "  dosing  " 
either  a  buU  or  a  torero. 

It  is  cruel,  but  it  is  honest,  and — notwithstanding  all  that 
has  been  said  to  the  contrary — it  does  not  harm  the  people  of 
Spain.  It  is  easy  to  write  of  a  crowd  "  inflamed  by  blood  lust," 
but  in  real  life  this  crowd  is  the  most  orderly,  good-natured 
thing  you  could  possibly  imagine  ;  even  the  most  remarkable 
corridas  do  not  cause  drunkenness  or  rioting. 

I  set  forth  these  facts  because  I  believe  them  to  be  irre- 
futable, and  I  present  them  for  the  consideration  of  aU  those 
persons  who  seem  inclined — in  connection  with  Spain — to 
allow  a  desire  for  things  modern  and  "  civilized  "  to  ac;  as 
an  anaesthetic  on  their  better  judgment. 

It  win  never,  I  think,  be  possible  to  do  away  with  the  bu\l- 
fight,  but  if  it  were  possible  what  could,  adequately,  take 
its  place  ? 

I  have  remarked  more  than   once   that  visitors  to  Spain 

frequently  find  it  a  country  of  disappointments.     And  this, 

because  what  is  to  be  found  there  is  not  always 

Dancing  in      ^yhat  has  been  expected.  And  it  often  happens 
in  Spain.  .  ,     ,.  '^        .  ,    ^ 

that   special   disappomtment   surrounds   the 

dances  and  dancers  of  Spain,  in  the  opinion  of  casual  onlookers. 

I  think  very  many  persons  expect,  on  crossing  the  Pyrenees, 

to  find  wonderful  women  of  the  Otero  and  Tortajada  type 

on  every  side.     I  am  not  quite  sure,  on  looking  back,  that 

I  did  not  expect  something  of  this  kind  myself.     I  know 

I   was    a    wee    bit    disappointed    with     the     dancing — at 

first! 

It  is  difficult  for  EngUsh,  French,  and  American  people  to 

realise  the  width  of  the  gulf  which  divides  the  dancing  of 


Sports  and  Pastimes  125 

Spain  from  that  of  most  other  countries  :  nevertheless,  this 
gulf  exists  and  cannot  easily  be  bridged  over. 

In  the  three  great  countries  I  have  just  mentioned,  and  in 
others  besides,  dancing  is  an  Art.  It  is  acquired  with 
more  or  less  difficulty,  and  it  is  practised  almost 
exclusively  in  artificial  surroundings  :  in  theatres  and  in 
ball-rooms. 

But  in  Spain  dancing  is  an  expression  of  Nature  ! 

It  is  as  natural  for  the  people  to  dance — and  by  "  people  " 
I  mean  the  masses — as  it  is  for  them  to  talk.  And  their 
dancing,  when  seen  in  absolutely  natural 
Sp^ish  D^lTcing.  surroundings,  expresses  their  feelings  of  the 
"  moment.  There  is  no  more  Art  about  it 
than  there  is  Art  in  walking  or  talking.  Everyone  has 
to  learn  how  to  put  one  foot  before  the  other,  and  how 
to  express  articulate  words,  but  no  one  describes  ordinary 
talking  or  walking  as  an  "  art."  And  so  it  is  an  absolutely 
natural  expression  of  personal  impulse  and  desire. 

Of  course  there  is  Art.  and  of  an  elaborate  kind,  connected 
with  Spanish  dances,  for  many  of  them  are  marvels  of  intricacy 
and  difficulty.  There  are  a  thousand  and  one  different  steps 
and  poses  which  have  to  be  most  carefully  studied,  and  it  is 
almost  as  difficult  to  play  the  castanets  well  as  it  is  to  play  the 
piano  :   but  aU  this  does  not  alter  the  case. 

It  is  difficult  for  a  child  to  learn  to  speak,  and  at  first  he 
can  only  manage  very  little  words  and  short  sentences,  but 
it  is  natural  to  him  to  make  the  effort,  and  he  does  it 
unconsciously.  And  it  is  as  natural  to  the  Spaniard  of 
the  people  to  express  himself  in  dancing  as  in  spoken 
words. 

And  it  is  because  dancing  in  Spain — generally  speaking — 
is  an  expression  of  Nature  and  not  merely  of  Art  that  dis- 
appointment is  sometimes  experienced  by  strangers.  We,  of 
Great  Britain,  France,  and  America,  are  accustomed  to 
artificial  amusements,  more  especially  where  dancing  is 
concerned. 


126  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

For  example,  we  go  to  a  handsome  theatre,  where  the 

Hghting  is  arranged  with  elaborate  care,  and  where  the  stage 

is   "  set "   with   a  florid   scene   representing 

^Q^"^?f"'^^    "life   in   Andalusia."    Toreros   in    wonderful 

other  Countries,  attire  are  lounging  about.     Majas,  d  la  Goya, 

are   displaying  superb  mantones    de  Manila. 

The  scene  is  pulsing  with  vivid  colour  and  bewildering  life. 

And  then  some  gorgeous  butterfly  pushes  her  way  arrogantly 

to  the  front,  her  breasts  and   arms   covered  with  diamonds 

worth  a  King's  ransom  ! 

And  this  superb  creature  dances  a  Tango  or  the  Soleares 
or  some  other  well-known  Spanish  dance.  She  is  Spanish, 
and  the  dance  is  entirely  Spanish,  but  I  do  not  know  where 
in  Spain  itself  you  could  find  a  similar  ensemble,  for  the 
Spaniards  are  so  accustomed  to  dancing  that,  unless  for  the 
benefit  of  strangers,  they  do  not  encourage  elaborate  exhibi- 
tions of  it  in  their  theatres.  And  so  it  not  infrequently 
happens  that  visitors  to  Andalusia  express  their  feelings  in 
some  such  words  as :  "  But  this  is  not  half  '  so  Spanish  ' 
as  dances  I  have  seen  in  London,  or  Paris,  or  New 
York  !  " 

f~v  For  the  type  "  very  Spanish  " — outside  Spain — is  repre- 
sented by  some  lovely  exotic  feminine  thing,  with  fierce  dark 
eyes  and  heavy  hair,  which  refuses  to  remain  confined  —  a 
wonderful  creature  who  habitually  goes  through  life  with 
hands  on  hips,  a  cigarette  between  her  red  lips,  and  a  swagger 
which  would  put  to  shame  the  proverbial  gait  of  the  toreros. 
And  the  "  very  Spanish  "  type,  as  understood  of  foreigners, 
has  in  real  life  many  attractive  representatives,  only  these  are 
rarely  to  be  encountered  in  Spain  ! 

In  Paris  this  type  blossoms  and  fruits  to  perfection,  for 
when  Parisian  Art  is  wedded  to  exotic  Nature  a  sufficiently 
alluring  result  is  assured. 

I  often  think  of  Ibsen's  plays  in  connection  with  genuine 
Spanish  dancing.  Plays  and  dances  alike  represent  phases 
of  Nature,  pure  and  simple,  and  it  remains  to    be    seen    if 


Sports  and  Pastimes  127 

the     onlooker     will,    or     can,     appreciate    them.       To    a 

mind   which    has  been    fed  on  artifices.  Nature — at    first — 

often     seems     unnatural.       The     aftermath 

Extreme        depends     on    individual  tendencies.       There 

Naturalness      ^^^    those    who,     once    having    learned    to 

Dancing.        appreciate    Ibsen,   can  never    again  tolerate 

ordinary  dramatic  methods,  and  in  the  same 

way  there  are  those  who  find  that,  when  once  the  dances  of 

Spain  have  taken  possession  of  the  imagination,  all  others 

seem  more  or  less  artificial  and  of  secondary  importance. 

In  some  respects  the  dances  of  Spain  are  akin  to  the  Greek 
dances  of  long-ago  days.  The  Spaniards  of  to-day,  hke  the 
Greeks  of  yesterday,  express  their  most  intimate  feelings  in 
the  dance.     Nothing  is  sufficiently  sacred  to  be  avoided. 

And  always  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  dances  and 
dancers  of  southern  Spain  have  been  famous  for  centuries 
and  centuries'  past.  Two  thousand  years  ago  the  wealthy 
Romans  used  to  send  to  Gades — Cadiz  of  to-day — for  their 
best  dancing-girls,  and  Mr.  Ellis  mentions,  in  this  connection, 
that  "  the  famous  statue  of  the  so-called  Venus  Callipyge, 
representing  a  woman  who  turns  her  head  round  as  she  bends 
backward,  is  not,  as  the  name  and  pose  might  suggest,  a 
representation  of  self-admiration,  but  undoubtedly  the  image 
of  a  Cadiz  dancer  in  a  characteristic  movement  of  a  Spanish 
dance." 

Roughly  speaking,    I   should   feel  inclined   to   divide   the 

dancing  of  Andalusia  into  four  sections :    the  dances  of  the 

Sefioritas,  for — as  I  shall  explain  a  little  later 

Varieties  of  ^^ — ^j^^  society  girls  of  Sevilla  dance  the 
Sevillanas,  etc.,  as  a  matter  of  course  ; 
the  dances  of  the  people  ;  the  dances  of  the  Cafe  Chantant  ; 
and  the  dances  of  the  gipsies.  And  in  considering,  in  con- 
nection with  these  four  sections,  the  dance  always  associated 
with  Sevilla — Las  Sevillanas — we  unconsciously  arrive  at 
something  like  a  solution  of  the  secret  of  Spanish  dancing. 

Everyone  dances  Las  Sevillanas  !    In  Sevilla,  in  a  ball-room. 


128  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

it  occupies  a  place  on  the  programme  similar  to  that  of  the 
valse  or  two-step  in  London  or  Paris.  And  very  beautifully 
some  of  the  pretty  senoritas  dance  :  with  dainty,  if  slightly 
rigid,  gestures  and  with  ultra  correct  steps.  And  they  express 
themselves  absolutely  in  the  dance.  They  are  jeunes  filles : 
happy,  light-hearted,  innocently  coquettish,  and  discreet. 
They  have  not,  except  in  rare  circumstances,  been  taught 
dancing  by  a  professional,  for  to  the  Spanish  mother  this 
idea  savours  of  the  theatre.  The  mothers  teach  the  daughters 
and  the  elder  sisters  teach  the  younger.  And  in  these 
circumstances  Las  Sevillanas  seems  an  ideal  dance  for  the 
young  girl. 

But  the  same  dance  interpreted  by  the  people,  in  some 
fragrant  garden,  under  the  light  of  a  southern  moon,  is  a 
vastly  different  thing.  Unconsciously  its  virile  fascination 
mounts  to  the  brain,  and  the  pulses  throb  in  rhythm  with  the 
clashing  castanets  and  twanging  guitars.  In  every  movement 
of  these  supple  bodies  there  is  subtle  temptation,  and  the 
imperious  stamp  of  the  foot,  in  certain  figures,  accentuates 
the  call  of  passion.  One  feels,  for  a  moment,  as  if  one  were  a 
little  too  near  Nature  ! 

And  then  in  the  Caf6  Chantant  the  same  dance,  or  one  of 
like  description,  takes  still  another  aspect.  Here  again  you 
find  virile  life  and  insistent  suggestion,  but  it  all  seems  very 
sordid  after  the  scene  in  the  moonlit  garden.  The  question 
of  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence  seems  to  have  entered  in  and 
brushed  off  the  bloom  of  Nature. 

As  to  the  gipsy  dances — ^here  we  pass  into  another  world. 

For  the  gipsies  of  Spain,  as  of  Russia  and  of  Hungary,  are 

creatures  apart  from  the  rest  of  the  world. 

Gipsy  Dancers.   They    are    an    extraordinary    people,    these 

wanderers  and  outlaws.     One  part  of  Sevilla 

— the  Triana  quarter — is  filled  with  them,  and,  with  a  few 

exceptions,  they  possess  no  attractions  for  the  eyes.     And 

yet,  when  I  think  of  the  delightful  experiences  I  have  enjoyed 

in  Andalusia,  I  find  my  thoughts  entangled  in  the  fascinations 


Sports  and  Pastimes  129 

of  a  green-eyed  gipsy  woman,  whose  dark  skin  was  covered 
with  small-pox  pits,  and  whose  smile  was  mysterious  as  that 
of  a  sphinx. 

The  evening  I  saw  her  dance  she  wore  a  slightly  trained 
skirt  of  pale  green  batiste  and  a  manton  de  Manila  of  ivory 
silk  gorgeously  embroidered  in  crimson  and  dull  green.  Her 
dead  black  hair  was  drawn  away  from  her  forehead  and  dressed 
high  on  the  top  of  her  head,  and  just  behind  the  left  ear  she 
wore  a  dark  red  rose. 

So  far  as  features  were  concerned,  she  was  almost  an  ugly 
woman,  but  her  green  eyes  gleamed  under  a  fringe  of  black 
lashes  and  her  figure  was  absolutely  perfect.  Tall  and  full, 
with  tapering  limbs  and  tiny  feet. 

It  was  the  first  gipsy  dance  I  had  ever  seen,  and  the  prepara- 
tions seemed  very  interesting.  Two  men — both  gipsies — 
seated  themselves  on  chairs  and  one  of  them  commenced  to 
twang  a  guitar  :    fiercely  and  with  amazing  spirit. 

Then  the  other  began  to  sing,  or  rather  to  chant,  with  a 
strong  nasal  accent,  and  the  girl  of  the  green  eyes  slowly 
moved  forward  and  began  to  dance.  And  while  she  danced 
all  those  present  kept  up  a  constant  and  rythmic  clapping 
of  the  hands. 

The  Tango  may  be  danced  in  many  different  ways,  but 
always  it  is  a  dance  of  the  whole  body.  Every  limb,  almost 
it  seems  every  muscle,  takes  active  part.  I  have  seen  the 
Tango  danced  wildly,  with  furious  abandon  and  with  grotesque 
actions  which  faintly  recall  the  cake-walk,  but  I  have  never 
since  seen  anything  Uke  that  Tango  of  the  green-eyed  gipsy 
of  Triana ! 

It  was  a  marvel  of  subtle  and  baffling  fascination.     She 

danced  so  slowly  that  almost  it  seemed  as  though  she  felt 

too  bored  to  make  an  effort,  but  each  move- 

A  Beautiful     nient  of   the   hips   and   waist   and   shapely 
Rendering  of  the..     ,  ^  -i.     ^t       k    a  Ju 

"Tango."      lunbs   was   eloquence    itself.     And   as  these 

subtle    movements    followed   each   other   in 

quick  succession  the  green  eyes  flickered  as  though  to  say  : 


130  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

"  I  am  only  at  play,  but  if  it  happened  that  I  were  in 
earnest  .  .  .  !  "  And  when  at  last  she  sat  down  there 
was  very  little  applause  :  none,  except  from  the  strangers 
present.  It  had  not  been  a  "  performance,"  only  a  little 
indication  of  what  a  woman  can  say,  without  speaking ! 

Liszt  has  left  us  some  wonderful  descriptions  of  gipsy  dances 
in  Hungary,  but  a  curiously  emotional  word-picture,  in  the 
same  genre,  has  been  recorded  by  Dumas.  I  have  not  space 
to  give  more  than  a  few  sentences  of  this  description,  but 
they  will  indicate  the  general  idea  :  "All  this  while  her  limbs, 
which  I  had  imagined  to  be  in  a  state  of  collapse,  had  assumed 
the  suppleness  and  strength  of  a  gazelle.  Her  eyes,  which  had 
seemed  so  heavy  with  sleep,  were  now  fully  awake  and 
flashing  fire  ;  her  lips,  which  at  first  she  appeared  scarce  able 
to  open,  were  now  raised  at  the  comers,  exposing  to  view, 
like  rims  of  pearls,  two  magnificent  rows  of  teeth.  The 
butterfly  was  transformed  into  a  woman,  and  the  woman  into 
a  raving  Bacchante.  Then,  as  if  he  himself  were  carried 
away  by  the  strains  of  the  guitar,  the  man  jumped  up  and 
touched  her  on  the  shoulder  with  his  lips .  Then  com- 
menced a  dance  which  represented  a  combination  of  the 
Pyrrhic  of  Greece,  the  Jaleo  of  Spain,  and  the  Chica  of  America. 
It  was  both  a  flight  and  a  provocation — a  struggle  in  which 
the  woman  kept  escaping  like  a  snake  and  the  man  ever 
pursuing  like  a  tiger.  All  the  time  the  music  was  increasing 
in  volume  while  the  other  two  women  beat  the  ground  with 
their  feet  and  clapped  their  hands  like  C3mibals." 

A   very   interesting   and   remarkable   feature   of   Spanish 

dancing  is  the  marked  difference  in  the  movements  of  the 

body    practised    in    various    provinces.     In 

Dances  of       Andalusia  all  the  limbs  and  all  the  muscles 

Provinces.       seem  to  take  part  in  the  dance,  but  as  you 

travel  towards  the  north  a  change  takes  place. 

In  Aragon,  for  example,  where  the  jota  is  universally  danced, 

the  legs  and  arms  take  the  giant's  share  of  the  work,  and  the 

trunk  of  the  bod}'  is,  practically,  motionless.     And  further 


sports  and  Pastimes  131 

north  still  you  find,  in  the  Basque  provinces,  the  whole  stress 
of  work  thrown  on  the  legs  :  the  arms  and  body  remaining 
absolutely  motionless.  The  Basque  dances — many  of  them — 
recall  the  dances  of  my  own  country,  Ireland.  There  is  the 
same  tireless  activity  of  the  legs  ;  the  same  dainty  action  of 
the  feet,  and  exactly  the  same  position  of  the  arms,  hanging 
straight  and  loose  at  either  side  of  the  body. 

After  the  delicious  dances  of  Andalusia,  the  jota  is  the 
most  notable  dance  of  Spain.  It  is,  perhaps,  more  curious 
than  attractive,  but  the  music  is  exquisite,  and  when,  at  given 
moments,  a  singer  joins  in  for  a  few  bars,  the  effect  is  magical. 
The  jota  is  a  peculiarly  aggressive  dance  ;  the  man  and 
woman,  who  face  each  other,  seem  determined  to  outdo  each 
other  in  the  matter  of  elaborate  and  difficult  steps,  but  not 
even  the  faintest  suggestion  of  amour  enters  in.  Someone 
has,  wnpoeticaUy,  likened  the  Basque  dancers  to  "  fleas  on 
hot  bricks,"  and  in  watching  the  jota  this  description  forces 
its  way  to  the  front.  The  little  side  kicks  are  very  suggestive 
of  a  desire  of  keeping  the  feet  from  the  ground  ! 

Of  the  many  Spanish  dancers  who  have  made  for  themselves 

European  reputations  my  personal  taste  leads  me  to  single 

out  Tortajada.     For  she  is  not  only  one  of 

La  Tortajada.    the  most  beautiful  of  women,  but  also  she  is 

a     delightful     dancer     and     an     admirable 

personality.     La  Tortajada  is  a  native  of  Granada,  and  is 

devoted  to  her  birthplace  and  to  her  country.     A  true  daughter 

of  the  Sun,  she  looks  forward  with  delight  to  her  yearly  visit 

to  the  ancient  stronghold  of  the  Moors,  and  it  is  her  fixed 

intention  to  spend  her  days  there,  when  the  triumphs  of  the 

stage  have  become  wearisome,   and  when  her  inclinations 

indicate  that  the  moment  has  come  for  "  cutting  off  the  coleta," 

or,  in  other  words,  retiring  into  private  life. 

At  Granada,  Tortajada  has  built  for  herself  an  ideally 
beautiful  nest,  in  an  old  palace  which  was  at  one  time  occupied 
by  Ferdinand  of  Aragon  and  Queen  Isabella,  and  it  is  in  this 
nest  that  she  spends  her  holidays  each  year,     She  and  her 


132  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

husband  are  happy  as  love-bu-ds,  and  the  hfe  of  this  really 
lovely  woman  is,  in  private  as  in  public,  one  long  triumph. 
I  have  seen  Tortajada  in  many  circumstances,  and  in  many 
gorgeous  costumes,  but  I  have  never  seen  her  look  more 
beautiful  than  one  morning  at  the  Alhambra — in  London, 
not  Granada — when  she  came  on  the  stage  to  rehearse.  She 
was  wearing  a  severely  plain  tailor-made  costume  of  brown 
cloth  and  a  simple  brown  straw  hat  which  harmonised  deli- 
ciously  with  the  rich  gold-brown  tints  of  her  hair.  As  she 
walked  down  the  great  stage  the  orchestra  rose,  to  a  man, 
as  though  to  greet  Royalty,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  peal 
of  delighted  laughter  which  broke  from  her  lips  as  she  greeted 
each  one,  individually.  Behind  the  scenes  at  the  Alhambra, 
Tortajada  was  an  idol,  and  everyone,  down  to  the  scene 
shifters,  had  some  story  to  tell  of  her  kindness. 

This  dancer  has  carried  the  fascinations  of  southern  Spain 
all  over  the  world.  She  has  danced  before  a  company  of 
3,000  Zulus.  She  has  danced  before  the  chiefs  of  the  Sioux 
Indians  !  She  has  danced  before  all  the  crowned  heads  of 
Europe,  and  has  had  ovations  in  all  the  big  cities  of  America. 
She  has  even  been  presented  to  His  Holiness  the  Pope,  and 
has  received  compliments  on  her  career  from  her  compatriot, 
Cardinal  Merry  del  Val. 

In  the  person  of  La  Tortajada  the  traditions  of  Spain  are 
safe.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Andalusia,  from  the  tip  of  her 
stately  head  to  the  point  of  her  dainty  little  feet.  Full  of 
sparkling  life  and  of  subtle  charm  :  natural  and  yet  exotic 
as  a  gorgeous  bird  of  paradise  ! 

Nothing  could  be  more  graceful  than  the  mantones  de  Manila 

which  are  so  much  worn  by  the  Spanish  dancers.     And  these 

mantones  are  also  worn  by  Spanish  women 

'dTlSta"     ^"    varied   positions   of   life,    but   in   certain 

circumstances  only.     The  manton  de   Manila 

is  an  immense  shawl,  made  of  China  silk  or  of  silk  crepe.     It 

is  heavily  fringed  and  richly  embroidered  ;    sometimes  the 

embroideries — carried  out  in  varied  coloured  silks — are  in  an 


Sports  and  Pastimes  133 

all-over  floral  design,  and  sometimes  Chinese  figures  are 
introduced.  This  garment  is  carefully  folded  across,  from 
corner  to  corner,  and  placed  over  the  bust,  the  double  point 
coming  directly  in  front.  The  ends  are  crossed  at  the  back, 
discreetly  tightened,  so  that  the  bust  and  hips  may  be  outlined, 
and  then  thrown  over  the  shoulders  and  fastened  with  a 
single  pin  at  either  side.  Arranged  in  this  manner  the  shawl 
gives  the  most  exquisite  effects,  for  in  dancing  its  wearer  makes 
the  long  fringes  sway  graciously,  and  the  figure,  which  is 
displayed  as  much  as  concealed,  seems  alive  with  poetic  and 
subtle  charm. 

All  Spanish  women  possess  a  manton  de  Manila ;  some 
possess  very  many  of  them,  in  varied  designs,  sizes  and  colours. 
A  young  dancer  whose  acquaintance  I  made  in  Sevilla  was  the 
happy  owner  of  ten  of  these  shawls,  and  each  one  was  worth 
from  800  to  1,000  pesetas! 

In  other  circumstances  than  for  dancing  these  shawls  are 
used  in  different  ways.  I  have  already  spoken  of  them  in 
connection  with  the  bull-fight,  and  they  are  also  to  be  seen, 
and  in  generous  quantities,  at  the  F6rias  which  are  held  in 
various  parts  of  Spain  in  the  spring  and  summer  seasons.  Of 
the  manton  at  the  F^ria  I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  in  my 
chapter  on  "  Fiestas,"  but  here,  while  I  remember  it,  I  must 
mention  that,  two  years  ago.  Queen  Amelie  of  Portugal  wore 
a  gorgeous  manton  de  Manila  wrapped  round  her  shoulders 
as  she  drove  in  Las  Delicias  after  the  Easter  bull-fight. 

Another  picturesque  dress  worn  by  Spanish  dancers  is  the 

madrofiera,  which  is  a  sort  of  tunic  made  of  chenil,  in  silk  or 

in    a    mixture    of    wool    and    cotton.     The 

Madronera  'ynadroflera  is  generally  seen  in  black,  and  it 
is  worn  over  a  satin  skirt  short  enough  to 
display  the  ankles.  It  is  accompanied  by  a  small  bolero,  also 
made  of  chenil  balls,  and,  as  a  rule,  with  this  costume,  the 
hair  is  dressed  low,  with  a  quantity  of  flowers  at  the  back, 
behind  the  ear,  and  a  big  tortoise-shell  comb  jutting  out  at  an 
extraordinary  angle.     Yet  another  variation  of  this  dress  may 

10— <2399) 


134  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

be  seen  in  the  photo  facing  page  136,  in  which  Jose  Otero 
is  represented  dancing  with  one  of  his  pupils.  Here  you  see 
the  bolero  jacket  of  plush  and  the  neat  frilled  shirt  front,  which 
recalls  those  worn  by  the  toreros.  The  jacket  is  cut  in  "  Eton  " 
shape,  and  there  is  a  smart  little  waistcoat.  In  this  particular 
photograph  you  can  judge  of  how  decorative  the  Spanish 
castanets  can  be.  The  bunch  of  ribbons  is  very  important- 
looking,  and  in  this  case  chenil  tassels  are  mingling  with  the 
lengths  of  brilliant  silk. 

One  of  the  finest  dancers  of  Andalusia — and  incomparably 
the  best  teacher — is  Jose  Otero  y  Aranda  of  Sevilla.  In 
these  ultra-modern  days  even  Andalusia 
cff^SeviUa"  seems  in  danger  of  losing — though  happily 
the  process  will  be  slow — some  of  its 
fascinating  personality,  but  Otero  is  a  true  son  of  the  soil :  a 
sevillano  of  the  old  school,  and  one  whom  everyone  admires 
and  loves.  Last  year,  when  Queen  Victoria  of  Spain  visited 
Sevilla  for,  I  think,  the  first  time,  a  series  of  fetes  were  arranged 
in  her  honour  and  for  her  pleasure,  and  in  the  arrangement 
of  these  fetes  Jose  Otero  played  a  prominent  part.  The  Queen 
had  expressed  a  desire  to  witness  Andalusian  dancing  in 
natural  surroundings,  and  these  dances  were  arranged  by 
"  Maestro,"  for  so  we  always  call  Don  Jose,  and  were  executed 
by  him  and  by  his  pupils.  It  was  an  entertainment  in  honour 
of  the  Queen,  and  it  was  given  in  the  famous  Casa  de  Pilatos 
by  the  Duque  de  Medinaceli. 

The  Casa  de  Pilatos  is  one  of  the  show  places  of  Sevilla. 
It  is  supposed  to  have  been  built  in  imitation  of  the  House 
of  Pilate  in  Jerusalem,  and  it  dates  back  to  the  sixteenth 
century.  The  patio,  or  court,  of  this  house,  is  exceptionally 
fine,  and  it  is  in  one  corner  of  this  patio  that  the  gaily  capari- 
soned horses  shown  in  the  picture  are  standing.  The  girl 
seated  behind  the  man  on  the  foremost  horse  is  Brigida,  one 
of  Otero's  pupils  and  an  accomplished  dancer. 

In  Andalusia  all  the  lower  windows  of  the  houses  are  barred^ 
right  up  to  the  top  ;    and  many  of  the  upper  windows  also. 


A    "  M ANTON    DE    MANILA 


Sports  and  Pastimes  135 

And  it  is  through  these  bars  that  a  courtship  is  conducted. 
In  the  picture,  "  Pelando  la  Pava,"  an  old  sixteenth-century 
window  is  shown,  but  the  bars  of  windows  in  ordinary  houses 
are  not  arranged  on  such  generous  lines.  They  are  quite 
close  together  and  none  but  a  tiny  Spanish  hand  could  squeeze 
through  to  receive  a  lover's  kiss.  This  romantic,  if  inconve- 
nient, method  of  courtship  holds  good  in  Andalusia  of  to-day, 
and  such  scenes  as  that  in  the  picture  may  be  seen  in  Sevilla 
every  evening,  and  in  almost  every  street. 

In  the  spring  season  Jose  Otero  arranges  exhibitions  of 
Spanish  dancing  in  the  Salon  Oriente,  and  here  can  be  seen, 
in  perfection,  the  Bolero  de  Madrid  and  the  classic  La  Mala- 
guefia  y  el  Torero ;  the  Jaleo  de  Jerez,  the  Soleares,  Las 
Sevillanas,  and  many  other  dances. 

Visitors  to  Sevilla  find  these  exhibitions  a  great  boon, 
because  it  is  no  easy  thing  for  strangers  to  see  really  good 
dancing,  in  perfectly  pleasant  surroundings. 

Almost  everyone  who  has  written  about  Spain  has  described 

some  special  circumstances  in  which  he,  or  she,  has  seen 

superlatively    good    Spanish    dancing.     Mr. 

^  EySiin^^^^    Havelock  Ellis  speaks  with  enthusiasm  of  the 

Chinitas    at    Malaga,    where,     "  One    went 

upstairs  to  a  charming  old-world  haunt,  a  scene  as  from  a 

seventeenth-century  Dutch  picture,  in  which  on  the  tiniest 

of  stages  and  in  the  presence  of  an  intensely  serious  and 

entirely  national  audience — while  guardian  mothers  and  aunts 

of  the  performers  sat  solemnly  around — some  of  the  most 

accomplished  dancers  of  Spain   danced,   in  their  beautiful 

Manila    shawls,    never-ending    cycles    of    characteristically 

Spanish  dances." 

Quite  recently  Monsieur  Rene  Maizeroy — a  Parisian  of 
Parisians  and  an  enthusiast  on  the  subject  of  Spain — described 
his  ideal  Spanish  dance  which  he  witnessed,  "  Sous  une  treille 
de  roses,  dans  un  jardin,  au  temps  des  Croix-de-Mai,  avec 
comme  luminaire  quatre  lanternes  de  papier  jaune,  les  astres 
du  del  et  la  clair  de  lune,"  etc.,  etc. 


136  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

And  I,  also,  on  looking  back  to  the  glorious  days  of  my 
first  spring  in  Sevilla,  can  pick  out  one  special  and 
unforgettable  evening,  in  which  I  witnessed  perfect  dancing 
in  absolutely  natural  surroundings. 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  the  feast  of  San  Jos6,  at  a  little 

saint's-day  party  given  by  Don  Jose  Otero,  at  his  house  in 

the  Calle  San  Vicente.     It  was  an  informal 

San  ^os6^'^^  ^^^^^^^""^^  •  ^  ^^^  favourite  pupils  and  one 
or  two  intimate  friends.  And  as  we  sat 
together  in  the  big  salon  where  "  Maestro  "  gives  his  lessons 
we  seemed  like  a  family  party,  watching  Otero's  little  boys 
playing  "  Toro,"  and  encouraging  with  an  animated  "  Ole  " — 
"  Ole,"  the  little  golden-haired  Pepito,  when  he  gravely 
and  dexterously  executed  some  well-known  pass  of  the 
cloak  ! 

And,  in  thinking  of  that  evening,  I  remember  my  feelings  of 
consternation  when  a  tray  containing  brimming  glasses  of 
some  particularly  insidious  Spanish  wine — golden  in  hue  and 
rich  to  the  taste — was  handed  round.  Being  by  habit  a 
teetotaler,  I  took  the  little  wine-glass  with  considerable 
misgivings  :  misgivings  which  grew  and  flourished  when,  later 
on,  I  realised  that  the  hospitable  tray  was  destined  to  approach 
me  very  frequently.  Happily,  custom  does  not  demand  that, 
on  such  occasions,  more  than  a  sip  be  taken  each  time,  and 
so,  with  the  aid  of  delicious  cakes  and  many  sweetmeats,  I 
managed  to  retain  control  of  my  lower  hmbs,  even  if — and 
this  is  possible — my  tongue  borrowed  courage  and  attacked 
the  Spanish  language  with  needless  energy ! 

And  later  on,  when  our  delightful  hostess,  Doiia  Cecilia, 
had  taken  little  Pepito  on  her  knee  and  soothed  him  to  sleep, 
someone  began  to  play  Las  Sevillanas,  and  Lolita — loveliest 
of  girls  and  most  perfect  of  dancers — invited  "  Maestro  "  to 
dance  with  her.  And  then  began  a  series  of  dances  which  I 
shall  never  forget — the  girls  trying,  each  one  in  turn,  to 
outshine  the  other,  and  to  compose  new  adornments  in  honour 
of  the  feast  of  San  Jose  ;  and  "  Maestro,"  in  a  desire  to  repay 


Beauchy 


JOSE   OTERO    AND    A    PI  PIL 


Sports  and  Pastimes  137 

all  these  delicious  compliments,  dancing  as  he  never  danced 
before,  or — I  believe — since. 

Brigida  was  there,  and  she  danced  a  wonderful  Bolero  with 
Otero's  nephew.  Gloria — one  of  the  most  beautiful  women 
in  Andalusia — was  there,  and  so  was  a  handsome  dancer  who 
has  since  made  for  herself  a  name  in  Paris.  Everyone  was 
in  the  best  of  spirits,  and  when  my  travelling  companion  was 
induced  to  stand  up  and  take  part  in  a  copla  of  the  Sevillanas, 
the  encouraging  clap  of  hands  and  clash  of  castanets  grew  wilder 
than  ever,  for  all  present  wanted  the  little  Irlandesa  to  make 
a  success  ! 

It  was  a  memorable  evening,  and  on  looking  back  on  it, 
and  in  thinking  of  all  the  kindness  and  affection  I  experienced 
in  Sevilla,  I  dedicate  this  chapter  to  "  Maestro,"  and,  in 
approved  style,  express  my  feelings — 

Brindo  por  Andalusia,  la  Tierra  de  Maria  Santisima  : 
por  "  Maestro  "  y  por  su  simpatica  familia. 


CHAPTER   VII 

MUSIC  AND   MUSICIANS 

In  thinking  over  the  Spanish  musicians  who  have  occupied 
an  important  place  in  the  world  in  modern  days  the  name 

of   Manuel   Garcia   at   once   suggests   itself : 
Garcia  "^      for  though  he  was  an  international  celebrity, 

he  was  very  Spanish — in  character  as  in 
appearance. 

Manuel  Patricio  Rodriguez  Garcia  was  born  in  the  year 
1805,  and  opinions  are  divided  as  to  the  exact  birthplace. 
Some  say  that  it  was  Madrid,  but  I  think  those  who  name 
Zafra  are  more  correct.  In  his  admirable  book,  "  Garcia  the 
Centenarian  and  his  Times,"  Mr.  Sterling  Mackinlay  recalls 
some  interesting  facts  in  connection  with  the  year  of  Don 
Manuel's  birth.  He  says  :  "  What  of  the  musical  world  in 
1805  ?  Beethoven  had  not  yet  completed  his  thirty-seventh 
year,  Schubert  was  a  boy  of  eight,  Auber,  Bishop,  Charles 

Burney  —  who    had    been    born    in    1726  — 
^GScia°^       Callcott,  Cherubini,  Dibdin,  Hal^vy,  'Papa' 

Haydn,  Meyerbeer,  Paganini,  Rossini,  Spohr, 
Weber,  these  were  all  living,  and  many  of  them  had  yet  to 
become  famous.  As  for  Chopin,  Mendelssohn,  Schumann,  and 
Brahms,  they  were  not  even  born  :  while  Gounod,  Wagner, 
and  Verdi  were  mere  schoolboys  when  Garcia  was  a  full-blown 
operatic  baritone." 

It  is  impossible  to  imagine  any  more  stirring  "  times  "  than 
those  of  Don  Manuel  Garcia.  He  was  the  intimate  friend  and 
comrade  of  all  the  great  musicians  whose  names  are  held  as 
sacred  in  our  homes  of  to-day.  He  was  the  son  of  one  of 
the  finest  tenors  Spain  has  ever  possessed,  and  the  brother  of 
the  glorious  Malibran  and  of  Pauline  Viardot-Garcia.  Georges 
Sand  he  knew  well,  and  he  used  to  take  pleasure  in  describing 


Music  and  Musicians  139 

an  episode  of  the  French  Revolution  of  1848,  when  Georges 
Sand  was  seen  standing  on  the  top  of  a  barricade,  surrounded 
by  excited  students,  and  when  she  called  down  to  her  musician 
friend  :  "  N'est-ce  pas  que  c'est  magnifique  ?  N'est-ce  pas 
que  c'est  beau  ?  " 

And  in  this  revolution  Garcia  took  his  place  on  the  barricades 
side  by  side  with  Jean  Frangois  Millet,  and  was — about  the 
same  period — the  friend  of  Corot,  Rousseau,  Delaroche,  Rosa 
Bonheur,  and  very  many  other  "  immortals." 

As  a  professor  of  singing,  Manuel  Garcia  held,  from  first  to 
last,  an  absolutely  unique  position.  No  other  man  has  ever 
had  such  successes,  and  most  surely  no  other  man  has  ever 
had  such  a  brilliant  band  of  pupils.  Jenny  Lind,  Mahbran, 
Mathilde  Marchesi,  Santley,  Antoinette  Sterling,  Johanna 
Wagner — this  latter  a  niece  of  Richard  Wagner  and  an 
accomplished  artist.  -^ 

In   connection   with   Don   Manuel's   friendship   with   the 

Wagner  family,   it  is  important  to  remember  that,   when 

arrangements  were  being  made  for  the  first 

Wagner's       Bayreuth   Festival,    Richard   Wagner  wrote 

Manuel  Garcia.  ^"^  asked  the  Spanish  musician  to  undertake 

the    training    of    the    singers.     Garcia    was 

unable  to  accept  this  offer,  but  the  fact  that  it  was  made  throws 

a  light  on  Wagner's  supposed  ideas  as  to  the  Italian  method  ! 

It  is  also  interesting  and  instructive   to   realise  that  this 

eminent  Spaniard  practically  commanded  the  musical  world 

of  the  past  fifty  years — so  far  as  singers  were  concerned — for 

not  only  did  he  instruct  a  large  number  of  notable  artists 

himself,  but  his  pupils  carried  on  his  work  in  various  countries  : 

in  Paris  Mathilde  Marchesi  gathered  in  pupils 

Midieti.       ^^°"^  ^^^  comers  of  the  globe,  and,  in  Berlin 

and  Frankfort,  Julius  Stockhausen — one  of 

Garcia's  favourite  pupils — was  considered  the  most  eminent 

professor  of  his  day ;    Stockhausen  was  the  master  of  Van 

Rooy  and  of  George  Henschel. 

There  have  been,  of  recent  years,  many  discussions  on  the 


140  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

vexed  question  of  "  voice  production  " — a  phrase  which  was 
Don  Manuel's  pet  aversion  :  many  theories  have  been  set 
forth,  but  when  weighing  the  pros  and  cons  of  these,  it  is  well 
to  remember  that  the  greatest  professor  of  singing  of  the 
nineteenth  century  believed  in,  and  always  adhered  to,  the 
"  Bel  Canto  "  method  which  has  been  handed  down  from 
the  famous  maestro  Porpora. 

I  have  said  that  Don  Manuel  detested  the  phrase  "  voice 
production,"  and  for  this  dislike  he  was  always  ready  to  give 
his  reasons.  Mr.  Mackinlay  describes  the  following  little 
speech,  deUvered  to  a  pupil  who  had  unwittingly  used  the 
forbidden  words  :  "  MonDieu!  }iiovf  cznyow produce  a  voice  ? 
Can  you  show  it  to  me  and  say,  '  Here  it  is.  Examine  it '  ?  Can 
you  pour  it  out  like  molten  lead  into  the  sand  ?  Non  !  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  '  voice  production.'  Perhaps  you  mean 
voice  emission.     You  do  ?     Eh  bien  !    Then  say  so,  please." 

Of  Sefior  Garcia's  untiring  work  for  the  advancement  of 
music  it  would  be  superfluous  to  speak  further,  since  his  life 
belonged  to  the  public,  and  its  every  movement  was  watched 
and  chronicled,  but  we  must  pause  for  a  moment  to  consider 
his  invention  of  the  laryngoscope. 

I  have  said  that  all  through  his  long  life  Manuel  Garcia  was 
a  true  Spaniard,  in  nature  as  well  as  by  birth,  and  the  manner 
in  which  he  made  his  great  discovery  was — to  those  who 
understand  the  Spanish  character — very  characteristic.  He 
had  a  great  wish  to  attain  a  certain  end,  and  he  set  about 
obtaining  it  in  a  simple  and  practical  way.  And  this  "  end  " 
was  not  to  make  a  scientific  discovery  :  it  was  to  see  his 
glottis  !  In  attaining  the  desired  "  end,"  he  made  a  scientific 
discovery  which  has  benefited  the  whole  world,  but  the  motive 
power,  which  I  hold  to  be  essentially  Spanish,  was  something 
quite  simple  and  practical, 

I  do  not  think  the  average  Spaniard  is  possessed  of  a 
scientific  mind,  but  he  is  very  ready  to  make  use  of  such 
science  as  may  help  him  to  attain  a  desired  end  :  and  this  end 
is  almost  invariably  a  practical  one. 


Music  and  Musicians  141 

With  regard  to  the  discovery  which  led  to  the  invention 
of  the  laryngoscope  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  again  from 
Mr.  Sterling  Mackinlay's  book.  After  having  spoken  of  the 
great  musician's  overpowering  desire  to  see  a  healthy  glottis 
in  the  very  act  of  singing,  for  he  felt  that  in  this  way  he  could 
discover  many  things  closely  connected  with  the  art  of  voice 
emission,  Mr.  Mackinlay  continues :  "  Suddenly  the  idea 
came  to  him — '  WTiy  should  I  not  try  to  see  it  ?  '  How  must 
this  be  done  ?  Why  obviously  by  some  means  of  reflection. 
Then,  like  a  flash,  he  seemed  to  see  the  two  mirrors  of  the 
laryngoscope  in  their  respective  positions  as  though  actually 
before  his  eyes."  Further  on  we  learn  that  the  musician 
placed    a    long-handled    dentist's    glass    in 

Birth  of  the     position  against  his  uvula,  and  then  examined 

Laryngoscope,     f!    ,       ,,     ^  .  ,      .       x.      a       •  "  t3  a 

it  by  the  aid  of  a  hand-mirror.        By  good 

fortune  he  hit  upon  the  proper  angle  at  the  very  first  attempt. 

There  before  his  eyes  appeared  the  glottis,  wide  open,  and  so 

fully  exposed  that  he  could  see  a  portion  of  the  trachea.     So 

dumbfounded  was  he  that  he  sat  down  aghast  for  several 

minutes."     Six  months  after  this  primitive  discovery  Don 

Manuel  submitted  his  paper  on  "  Physiological  Observations 

on  the  Human  Voice  "  to  the  Royal  Society  of  London.     In 

this  paper  he  set  down  the  scientific  thesis  of  his  discovery 

in  language  which  would  have  done  credit  to  expert  anatomists 

and  physiologists. 

It  is  rather  a  curious  fact  that  I  am  writing  these  words  on 

the  104th  anniversary  of  the  day  on  which  Manuel  Garcia 

was  born — on  the  17th  of  March  !     For  the  birthday  of  this 

eminent  Spaniard  is  the  special  "  Day  "  of  St.  Patrick,  the 

Patron  Saint  of  my  country  ! 

And  on  the  famous  birthday  in  the  year  1905 — when  the 

wonderful  old  man  entered  what  Professor  Frankel  described 

as  "  the  second  century  of  his  immortality  " — 
The  Centenary,  he  looked  every  inch  a  Spaniard  when  the 

Marquis   de   Villalobar  visited  him   for  the 
purpose  of  delivering  a  special  message  of  congratulation  from 


142  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

King  Alfonso  XIII.  In  the  course  of  this  visit  the  Marquis 
said  :  "I  have  been  honoured  by  his  Majesty  the  King, 
Don  Alfonso  XIII,  with  his  august  representation  to  con- 
gratulate you  on  the  day  of  your  centenary,  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  learned  men  who  have  assembled  in  this  great 
metropolis  for  its  celebration.  In  obeying  the  King's 
command,  in  which  the  Government  and  the  Spanish  people 
join,  I  honour  myself,  investing  you,  in  the  name  of  his 
Majesty  and  your  motherland,  with  the  Royal  Order  of 
Alfonso  XII,  as  a  high  reward  to  your  merits  and  the  services 
rendered  to  mankind  through  your  science  and  your  labour," 
etc.,  etc. 

In  the  chapter  on  Literature,  and  elsewhere  in  this  book,  I 

have  alluded  to  what  has  been  called  "  the  Valera  woman  "  : 

that  peculiarly  attractive  type  which  modern 

The  Valera       Spaniards  have,  more  or  less,  condemned  as 

Type.  ^ 

un-Spanish.     And  I  have  called  this  type  the 

"  eternal  woman,"  and  pointed  out  that  in  many  respects 

she  was,  in  my  opinion,  quite  Spanish  !     In  this  connection 

it  is  interesting  to  recall  some  of  the  leading  characteristics 

of  one  of  the  most  notable  singers  Spain  has  ever  possessed — 

Maria  Garcia,  who  became  world-famous  under  the  title  of 

Malibran  ! 

This  extraordinary  woman's  charm  and  versatility  were 
very  remarkable  :  she  was  not  alone  a  great  singer,  but  she 
was  also  a  great  linguist,  an  accomplished  artist,  and  an 
inimitable  mimic.  She  was  full  of  vivid  life,  and  a  description 
of  her,  given  by  one  who  knew  her  well,  strongly  suggests 
the  "  Valera  type." 

"  Maria  Malibran  " — this  writer  says — "  would  dress  like 
a  man  and  drive  the  coach  from  place  to  place  ;  and  when 
she  arrived,  brown  with  the  sun  and  dust  of  Italy,  would 
sometimes  jump  into  the  sea.  Then  she  would  go  straight 
to  the  Opera,  and,  having  sung  '  Amina,'  '  Norma,'  or  '  The 
Maid  of  Artois,'  as  we  shall  perhaps  never  hear  them  sung 
again,  return  home  to  write  or  sing  comic  songs.     At  cock-crow 


Music  and  Musicians  143 

she  was  out  galloping  her  horse  off  its  legs  before  a  rehearsal  in 
the  morning,  a  concert  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  Opera  at  night !  " 

Such  was  the  untiring  energy  of  this  notable  Spanish  woman, 
who,  unhappily,  died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-eight. 

In  a  chapter  devoted  to  the  music  and  musicians  of  Spain 

it  is  necessary  to  give  a  place  of  prominence  to  a  violinist  who 

is   now,    alas !     no   longer   with   us.     Pablo 

Sarasate.        Martin  Meliton  de  Sarasate  was  the  greatest 

of  artists  and  the  most  charming  of  men.     He 

spent  much  of  his  life  in  wandering  up  and  down  Europe,  and 

everywhere  he  went  he  was  feted  and  adored,  but  to  the  last 

he  remained  a  Spaniard  of  the  Spaniards :    in  temperament, 

in  taste,  in  thought  and  in  action. 

The  yearly  visits  of  Sarasate  to  his  native  town,  Pampeluna, 
were  occasions  of  general  rejoicing.  He  was  received  with 
Royal  honours,  and,  as  I  hinted  in  another  chapter,  his  appear- 
ance in  a  palco  at  the  Plaza  de  Toros  was  the  signal  of  a 
triumphant  welcome  from  thousands  of  eager  voices,  which 
gave  the  violin  king  more  real  pleasure  than  did  the  European 
ovations  to  which  he  was  so  well  accustomed. 

At  a  very  early  age  Pablo  de  Sarasate  showed  extraordinary 
talent  for  music  :  when  a  little  boy  of  six  years  he  played, 
and  with  much  success,  at  a  concert  at  Coruiia,  in  Galicia,  and 
at  the  age  of  twelve  he  entered  the  Paris  Conservatoire  and 
became  the  favourite  pupil  of  Delphin  Alard. 

When  he  was  a  romantic-looking  youth  of  about  eighteen 
Sarasate  paid  his  first  visit  to  England  and  played  at  the  old 
St.  James's  Hall.  After  that  quite  a  long  time  elapsed  before 
he  was  again  heard  in  London,  but  when,  I  think  in  1874,  he 
played  at  one  of  the  Philharmonic  Society's  Concerts  he  made 
a  veritable  sensation. 

I  have  heard  persons  who  were  present  at  that  concert 
describe  the  extraordinary  appearance  of  the  Spanish  musician : 
his  great  mass  of  dark  hair  framing  his  pale  face  and  his  wild 
dark  eyes  exercising  a  subtle  fascination  over  the  delighted 
audience. 


144  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

It  was  at  this  period  that  the  name  of  Sarasate  became 

closely  associated  with  the  Finale  of  the  Mendelssohn  Concerto, 

and  the  war  which  raged  round  his  rendering 

^^^  Co^nctrto°^"   °^    *^^^    ^^^"^^    P^^^^    °^    ^^^^^    "^^^^    ^^^^^y 
abated.     To  the  last,  strict  musicians  declared 

that  the  violinist  sacrificed  art  to  effect,  and  that  he  made 

it  impossible  for  the  wood-wind  instruments  to  give  the  difficult 

passages  of  the  Finale  proper  execution  ;  in  fact,  that  the 

impulsive  Spaniard  took  the  Finale  at  such  lightning  speed 

that  he,  and  he  alone,  was  "in  at  the  death  !  " 

For  many  years  Pablo  de  Sarasate  was  always  accompanied, 
at  his  concerts,  by  that  admirable  pianist,  Madame  Berthe 
Marx,  but  in  the  year  1906  he  appeared  at  the  Bechstein  Hall 
in  conjunction  with  his  compatriot  Carlos  Sobrino,  and  many 
critics  were  of  opinion  that  the  accompaniments  of  Sefior 
Sobrino  were  beyond  praise. 

Of  this  fascinating  musician's  rendering  of  the  jota 
Aragonesa  no  one  could  speak  without  seeming  exaggeration: 
it  was  an  extraordinary  performance,  and  it  stirred  the  emo- 
tions of  French  and  English  audiences  quite  as  much  as  those 
of  Spam.  The  last  time  I  heard  Sarasate  play  the  jota  was 
at  an  afternoon  concert  in  Paris,  and  it  was  seven  o'clock 
before  we  left  the  building  !  Again  and  again  the  musician 
was  recalled,  and  the  enthusiasts  were  only  induced  to  cease 
applauding  by  the  announcement  that  he  had  driven  back 
to  his  hotel ! 

Amongst  the  many  distinctions  showered  upon  Sarasate  by 
the  rulers  of  Europe  were  the  "  Grand  Cross  of  the  Order  of 
Isabella  the  Cathohc  "  ;  the  Legion  of  Honour  ;  the  Red 
Eagle  of  Russia,  etc. 

The  most  important  composer  in  Spain  at  the  present  day 
is  Tomas  Breton,  and  it  is  interesting  to  realise  that  he,  like 
Pietro  Mascagni,   was  the  son  of   a  baker. 
Tomas  Breton.   From  his  infancy  Breton  showed  an  extra- 
ordinary love  and  talent    for    music,  and  at 
eight  years  of  age  he  began  to  study  music  seriously ;    he 


Music  and  Musicians  145 

quickly  mastered  the  rudiments  of  the  violin,  and  when  only 
ten  years  of  age  he  was  a  member  of  an  orchestra  in  Salamanca, 
in  which  city  he  was  born. 

At  this  early  age  Breton  had  no  knowledge  of  harmony, 
but  this  did  not  keep  him  from  beginning  to  compose  music, 
and  his  exceeding  precocity  attracted  the  attention  of  leading 
artists,  who  urged  his  mother  to  send  him  to  Madrid  to  pursue 
his  studies.  For  some  time  the  want  of  money  kept  Tomas 
Breton's  parents  from  doing  all  they  wished  for  their  wonderful 
son,  but,  finally,  they  managed  to  make  their  way  to  Madrid, 
and  there,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  the  boy  obtained  the  position 
of  first  violin  in  an  important  theatre. 

At  this  stage  of  his  career  numerous  persons  insisted  that 
it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  the  young  musician  to  go 
through  a  course  of  serious  studies  for  the  purpose  of  passing 
into  the  Conservatorio. 

This  idea  of  spending  several  years  in  preliminary  study 
did  not  commend  itself  to  Breton.  Instead,  he  procured  a 
copy  of  Eslava's  "  Escuela  de  Composicion,"  studied  it  for 
five  months — alone — and  then  presented  himself  for  admission, 
and  was  at  once  received  into  the  Conservatorio  ! 

In  1872  he  and  Chapi  carried  off  the  honours,  and  Breton's 
reputation,  as  a  serious  musician,  was  firmly  established. 

The  name  of  Tomas  Breton  is  known  all  through  the  length 

and  breadth  of  Spain  in  connection  with  the  Opera — "  Los 

Amantes  de  Teruel," — which  is  so  universally 

de*Terud"*'^^  popular  that  it  is  always  brought  forward  as 
a  stop-gap  when  any  other  opera  fails  to  gain 
favour  with  the  public.  A  curious  fact  connected  with  this 
opera  is,  that  when  it  was  first  producer!  it  was  an  absolute 
failure  ;  no  one  had  a  good  word  to  say  for  it,  and  it  would 
have  completely  disappeared  from  view  had  not  the  Queen 
Regent — who  admired  the  music — taken  the  matter  firmly 
in  hand.  The  Queen — who  has  always  been  a  most  sympa- 
thetic patron  of  music  of  the  best  order — had  some  of  the 
leading  numbers  from  "  Los  Amantes  de  Teruel "  given  in 


146  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

the  Palace,  and  gradually  the  tide  turned  in  favour  of  Breton. 
In  the  year  1889  the  opera  was  produced,  with  triumphant 
results,  at  the  Teatro  Real,  and  ever  since  then  it  has  held  the 
Spanish  stage  continuously. 

The  Catalans  were,  from  the  first,  enthusiastic  admirers  of 
Breton's  great  gifts,  and  he  received  so  much  encouragement 
from  friends  in  Barcelona  that  he  became  filled  with  the  idea 
of  writing  a  Catalan  opera.  This  he  eventually  did — taking 
as  a  theme  the  legend  of  "  Juan  Garin,"  which  title  he  gave 
to  the  opera.  This  work  was  produced  in  Barcelona  with  a 
success  which  has  never  been  equalled  in  that  city. 

Amongst  the  many  remarkable  musical  works  of  this  artist 
may  be  cited  "  La  Verbena  de  la  Paloma  "  and  "  La  Dolores." 
Breton  has  composed  several  popular  zarzuelas,  and  many 
orchestral  pieces. 

Of  recent  years  no  one  has  done  more  for  orchestral  music 

in  Spain  than  Seiior  Arbos.     This  clever  musician  is  a  native 

of  Galicia,  and  his  father  and  grandfather 

/tfbcT"  ^^    were  military  bandmasters  ;   from  his  earliest 

childhood  he   showed   a  marked   talent   for 

music  and  while  still  only  a  little  boy  gained  various  prizes 

at  the  Conservatoire  of  Madrid. 

Through  the  influence  of  his  master,  Monasterio,  the 
eminent  violinist,  Fernandez  Arbos  was  brought  under  the 
direct  notice  of  the  Spanish  Royal  Family,  and  was  also  able 
to  pursue  his  studies  abroad. 

At  the  Brussels  Conservatoire  he  studied  under  Vieuxtemps, 
but  on  hearing  Joachim  play  he  became  so  infatuated  by  the 
style  of  that  great  artist  that  he  went  straight  to  Berlin 
and  placed  himself  under  his  direction.  While  still  continuing 
his  studies  Seiior  Arbos  filled  the  post  of  leader  of  the  Berlin 
Philharmonic  Society,  and  a  little  later  on  he  made  a  concert 
tour  in  France,  Holland,  Belgium,  Portugal,  and  Poland. 

He  was  then  invited  to  fill  the  post  of  Professor  of  the 
Violin  at  the  Hamburg  Conservatoire,  but  shortly  after 
settling  in  Hamburg  he  was  asked  by  the  Queen  of  Spain  to 


Music  and  Musicians  147 

return  to  Madrid  and  to  take  up  the  position  of  principal 
professor  of  the  vioHn  in  the  Conservatoire  of  that 
capital. 

It  may  fairly  be  said  that  it  was  Sefior  Arbos  who  made 

really  fine  chamber  music  popular  in  Spain.     He  threw  himself 

heart  and  soul  into  the  work,  and  founded  a 

Chamber  Music  society  for  the  practice  of  the  compositions 

of  classical  writers.     At  that  period  orchestral 

music,  of  a  first-rate  quality,  was  little  known  in  Spain,  and 

the  work  done  by  the  musician  of  whom  I  am  now  speaking 

has  had  a  very  wide  influence  :    in  the  provinces  as  well  as 

in  Madrid. 

Somewhere  about  the  year  1891  Sefior  Arbos  had  a  great 
success  in  London,  playing  at  some  concerts  given  by  Albeniz — 
the  eminent  Spanish  pianist  and  composer,  whose  death  has 
been  recently  announced — and  afterwards  at  one  of  the 
popular  concerts,  at  which  he  played  Bach's  double  concerto 
with  Joachim. 

Fernandez  Arbos  is  a  man  of  many  talents  :  a  really  fine 
violinist,  he  is  also  a  first-rate  orchestral  leader  and — perhaps 
best  of  all — an  incomparable  teacher. 

His  wide  experience  at  five  different  Conservatoires  has  been 
invaluable  to  his  pupils,  and  he  has  succeeded  in  imbuing 
many  of  them  with  his  own  enthusiasm  for  classical  music. 
Of  his  compositions — and  they  are  many — ^his  trios  for  the 
piano  and  strings  are  the  best  known,  but  he  has  also  written 
an  interesting  and  amusing  comic  opera,  "  El  Centro  de  la 
Tierra,"  which  was  produced  in  1895. 

Arbos  was  for  a  short  time  leader  and  soloist  to  the  Boston 
Symphony  Orchestra,  but  finally  decided  to  accept  the  post 
of  permanent  conductor  of  the  Madrid  Symphony  Orchestra. 
This  Orchestra  has  been  brought,  under  his  guidance,  to 
a  high  state  of  efficiency,  and  during  the  season  important 
works  by  Bach,  Tschaikowsky,  and  Brahms  are  given. 

Under  the  direction  of  this  musician,  the  compositions  of 
Debussy,   Cesar  Franck,   Sibelius,    Rimsky-Korsakoff,    etc.. 


148  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

have  been  introduced  to  the  Spanish  pubHc  :  it  is  interesting 
to  reahse  that,  in  connection  with  the  concerts  given  by  the 
Madrid  Symphony  Orchestra,  the  popular  vote  was  given  in 
favour  of  Bach.  The  works  of  this  grand  old  master  found 
far  more  favour  with  the  Spaniards  than  those  of  any  modern 
composer. 

It  has  been  rather  the  fashion,  of  late  years,  to  say  that  the 
Spaniards  are  no  longer  a  really  musical  nation,  and — on  the 
surface — this  seems  true,  but  Wagner  is  regarded  in  Spain 
almost  as  a  household  god,  and  I  remember  an  occasion,  in 
Madrid,  when  a  large  audience  found  sufficient  enthusiasm 
to  encore  the  Tannhaiiser  Overture  at  the  very  end  of  a  concert 
which  had  lasted  four  hours  ! 

I  have  already  mentioned,  in  another  chapter,  that  in  the 
summer  Senor  Arbos  conducts  the  classic  concerts  at  the 
Casino  of  San  Sebastian  ;  he  also  finds  time  to  pay  frequent 
visits  to  London,  and  to  conduct,  from  time  to  time,  the 
London  Symphony  Orchestra. 

This  musician,  who  is  very  well  known  in  Madrid  society,  is 

a  young  naval  officer  of  exceptional  talent.     He  is  devoted  to 

his    profession,    and    in    pursuing    it     with 

Mannque       enthusiasm   he    finds   but   little    tune,    com- 
ae Lara. 

paratively,  for  the  study  of  music  ;  never- 
theless, he  has  already  published  some  remarkable  compositions 
for  stringed  instruments,  at  least  two  fine  symphonies  and 
several  operas. 

He  is  at  present  occupied  in  finishing  an  important  opera 
entitled  "  Rodrigo  de  Vivar,"  and  this  work  he  himself  regards 
as  his  best. 

Don  Manrique  is  a  vehement  enthusiast  of  the  Wagnerian 
principles,  which  he  considers  to  be  ideal,  since  they  afford 
unrivalled  methods  for  the  expression  of  modern  art. 

In  an  interesting  letter  which  I  received  recently  from  him, 
Don  Manrique  expressed  unbounded  admiration  for  the 
genius  of  the  Maestro  Chapi — of  whom  he  was  the  only  pupil. 
Since  the  receipt  of  that  letter  the  news  of  Chapi's  death  has 


Music  and  Musicians  149 

filled  the  musical  world  with  grief,  for  he  was  a  universal 
favourite  ;  but  a  few  days  before  his  death,  he  had  been 
receiving  congratulations  from  his  numerous  friends  and 
acquaintances  on  the  success  of  his  opera,  "  Margarita  la 
Tornera,"  which  had  just  set  all  Madrid  talking. 

In  speaking  of  his  beloved  maestro,  Don  Manrique  said : 
"He  is  undoubtedly  the  great  artistic  figure  of  the  present 
day  in  Spain.  The  enormous  quantity  of  his  works  has  not 
in  any  way  interfered  with  the  quality,  which  is  always 
excellent." 

Besides  being  a  skilled  musician,  Manrique  de  Lara  is  well 
known  in  the  literary  world.  He  contributes  art  criticisms 
to  El  Imparcial,  La  Epoca,  El  Heraldo,  and 
A^t"'^?""'^  other  papers.  He  is  also  musical  critic  for 
El  Mundo.  In  the  American  war  he  volun- 
teered and  had  the  good  fortune  to  command  the  quick-firing 
battery  on  the  Pelayo. 

There  are  at  the  present  day  quite  a  number  of  notable 

pianists  in  Spain  ;    indeed,  I  think  that,  taking  the  Spanish 

executants   as   a   whole,    the   pianists   easily 

A  Notable       take  first  place  in  the  race  for  fame.     Some 

Pianist 

Jose  Cuervos.    ^^  these  masters  of  the  piano  have  elected  to 

live,  almost  entirely,  out  of  their  own  country, 
but  Jose  Guervos  is  a  notable  exception  to  this  rule. 

He  is  a  son  of  Andalusia,  having  been  born  in  Granada  in 
the  year  1870,  and  his  career  has  been  an  extraordinarily 
successful  one.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  when  we  realise 
that  he  comes  of  musical  people,  on  both  sides  :  his  father  and 
mother  were  skilled  musicians,  and  so  were  his  grandparents, 
and  so  on. 

After  having  commenced  his  serious  studies  with  his  father, 
Guervos  entered  the  Conservatorio  of  Madrid  in  1886,  and 
in  1888  obtained  first  prize  for  the  piano.  In  1892  he  began 
to  teach  and  was  made  professor  of  the  piano  at  the  Conserva- 
torio, a  post  which  he  stiU  fills.  In  1895  he  founded  a  society 
of  Chamber  Music,  with  the  famous  'ceUist  Pablo  Casals,  and 
II— (2399) 


150  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

in  the  same  year  he  made  a  prolonged  tour  with  Sarasate, 
through  Spain,  Portugal,  and  France. 

This  musician  has  composed  a  great  number  of  works :  for  the 

piano,  for  the  organ,  and  for  orchestra.    He  has  also  composed 

many  rarely  lovely  songs.     Some  of  the  most 

Compositions  successful  compositions  of  this  artist  are  some 
short  pieces  for  the  piano  called  "  Pensa- 
mientos  "  and  his  famous  "  Rimas  de  Becquer,"  for  a  single 
voice  with  orchestral  accompaniment.  Becquer  was  an 
extraordinary  poet  of  the  past  century  whose  rimas  were  very 
celebrated,  and  Seiior  Cuervos  has  surrounded  them  with 
music  which  is  as  effective  as  it  is  original. 

In  the  year  1900  Seiior  Guervos  was  invited  by  the  Queen 
Regent  to  give  lessons  to  the  late  Princess  of  the  Asturias 
and  to  the  Infanta  Maria  Teresa — sisters  of  the  King.  Since 
then  he  has  been  made  Court  Pianist  of  Spain,  and  in  this 
capacity  he  arranges  all  the  musical  entertainments — and 
they  are  many — which  take  place  in  the  Palace. 

The  compositions  of  Jose  Cuervos  are  distinctly  Spanish 
in  flavour  :  they  seem  to  reflect  the  love  which  the  musician 
cherishes  for  the  golden  south — for  Andalusia,  his  native 
province. 

I  do  not  think  that  it  is  generally  known  that  reaUy  splendid 

work  is  being  carried  on  at  the  Conservatorio  of  Madrid  ;  each 

year  the  successful  pupils  grow  more  and  more 

The  numerous,  and  the  course  of  teaching  leaves 

of  Madrid.      nothing  to  be  desired.     At  the  Conservatorio 

there    are    fifty-eight   professors,    and   these 

are  divided  under  two  headings :    numerarios  for  superior 

instruction,  and  super mimerarios  for  elementary  instruction. 

The  pupils  number  between  4,000  and  5,000,  and  the  course 

includes  all  the  branches  taken  up  b)'  the  Conservatoire  of 

Paris.     Very   special    attention    is    paid    to    instruction    in 

harmony,  counter-bass,  declamation,  solfeggio,  etc.,  etc. 

The  greatest  'cellist  of  the  present  day,  in  Spain,  is  Pablo 
Casals.     He  is  still  quite  a  young  man,  but  his  tone  and 


Music  and  Musicians  151 

execution  are  superb,  and  many  critics  place  him  on  a  line 
with    the    foremost   European  masters  of  the  'cello  of  our 

day.     Unfortunately,  Casals  is  naturally  of  a 
Pablo  Casals,     nervous  temperament,  and  for  this  reason  his 

execution  is,  at  times,  uneven  ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  this  very  nervousness  adds  great  charm  to  his 
playing,  for  it  keeps  him  strung  up  and  his  hearers  benefit  by 
what  must  be  to  him  real  suffering.  Casals  is  a  Catalan,  and 
is  one  of  the  many  Spanish  artists  who  pass  the  greater  part 
of  their  time  in  Paris. 

Miguel  Llobet  is  a  notable  guitarist.     He  was  a  favourite 
pupil  of  Tarrega — the  greatest  master  of  the  guitar  Spain 

has  known  during  the  past  fifty  years — and, 
Miguel  Llobet,   like  his  illustrious  maestro,  he  is  able  to  make 

the  guitar  speak.  It  was  in  Paris  that  I  first 
had  the  pleasure  of  making  this  musician's  acquaintance, 
and  I  confess  to  a  feeling  of  intense  surprise  when  I  heard 
him  softly  playing  the  opening  notes  of  one  of  Chopin's  most 
exquisite  Nocturnes.  I  had  never  thought  of  associating  the 
guitar  with  serious  music,  but  in  the  hands  of  Miguel  Llobet 
it  gave  us  Bach  and  Mendelssohn,  Chopin  and  Beethoven. 
This  sounds  incredible,  but  then  the  guitar  is  an  instrument 
capable  of  wonderful  things — in  thoroughly  skilled  hands. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  evening  we  pressed  the  artist  to  give 
us  something  "  really  Spanish,"  and  he  played — in  memorable 
style — a  jota  composed  by  Tarrega  himself.  A  glorious  piece 
of  music,  full  of  brilliant  life  :  music  which  expressed  in 
delicious  sounds  what  the  pictures  of  Zuloaga  express  in  colour. 
I  spoke,  at  the  commencement  of  my  chapter  on  Plays  and 
Players,  of  the  great  popularity,  in  Spain,  of  the  zarzuela. 

I  felt  bound  to  include  it  in  that  chapter 
Vl^^T        because  it  occupies  the  stage  of  the  majority 

of  Spanish  theatres,  especially  in  the  provinces, 
but  the  king  of  zarzuela  writers  is  entirely  a  musician.  Joaquin 
Valverde  was  born  in  Badajoz  in  the  year  1846.  While  still 
a  little  boy  he  played  the  flute  in  a  regimental   band   at 


152  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

Valencia,  and  at  this  period  he  was  put  to  teach  the  solfeggio 
to  the  recruits  !  Later  on  he  made  his  way  to  Madrid,  and 
at  once  obtained  a  position  in  a  theatre  orchestra  ;  not  very 
long  afterwards  he  became  conductor  of  the  orchestra  of  the 
Teatro  Espanol. 

Sometime  in  the  year  1894  Valverde  gave  his  attention  to 
composition,  and  since  that  time  he  has  produced — with  unfail- 
ing success — more  than  200  instrumental  works,  a  number  of 
pieces  for  the  piano  and  for  military  bands,  and  innumerable 
zarzuelas,  these  latter  being  the  compositions  with  which  his 
name  is  always  associated.  Some  of  his  most  popular  zarzuelas 
were  written  in  collaboration  with  Don  Federico  Chueca,  the 
inimitable  musician  whose  death  was  announced  a  few  months 
ago. 

Perhaps  the  best  known  of  Valverde's  works  may  be  said 
to  be  "  La  Gran  Via,"  a  zarzuela  which  has  been  played  in 
almost  every  capital  of  Europe,  and  which  has  had  great 
success  in  America.  "  Cadiz  "  and  "  Caramelo  "  are  also 
fine  specimens  of  Valverde's  work,  and  these  were  also  written 
in  collaboration  with  Chueca. 

Valverde  fils,  who  resides  in  Paris,  is  an  extraordinary 

musician.     Composition  seems  as  easy  to  him  as  ordinary 

letter-writing  to  the  average  individual.     He 

Valverde  Fils.  sits  down  to  the  piano  and  plays  a  few  notes  ; 
if  the  idea  he  has  in  his  mind  pleases  him  he 
adds  other  notes,  and  then  others  and  others ;  finally,  he  goes 
to  a  table  and  writes  the  whole  thing  down  from  memory : 
a  piece  or  a  song — which  will  surely  prove  a  popular  success 
— having  been  composed  in  twenty  or  thirty  minutes. 

The  younger  Valverde  has  a  wonderful  memory  :  he  never 
forgets  anything  he  has  composed  and  can,  at  any  time,  run 
right  through  his  zarzuelas  from  beginning  to  end,  without 
notes.  I  always  remember,  with  pleasure,  having  heard  this 
musician  sing — some  of  his  own  compositions.  He  has  so 
little  voice  that  he  assured  us  that  we  could  not  hear  him  at 
all  unless  we  stood  close  to  the  piano  !     But  voice  was  not 


Music  and  Musicians  153 

required  when  such  an  admirable  artist  was  giving  expression 
to  the  children  of  his  brain  ;  his  method  of  singing — or  rather 
of  speaking  to  a  piano  accompaniment — was  quite  fascinating, 
and  all  those  present  on  that  occasion  felt  themselves  fortunate. 
Few  men  have  done  more  for  music  in  Spain  than  has  Don 
Luis  Dotesio,  who  is  not  only  the  greatest  publisher  of  music 
in  Spain,  but  almost  the  only  one.     If  such  a 

Music  PubUsher.  *^^"^  ^^  "  chance  "  exists,  it  may  be  said  that 
it  was  a  matter  of  pure  chance  that  Don  Luis 
took  up  the  business  of  publishing  music  !  All  his  tastes  ran 
in  the  direction  of  chemistry,  and  he  was  devoting  his  attention 
to  the  analysis  of  minerals  when  "  chance  "  threw  him  into 
the  company  of  Don  Luis  Piazza  of  Sevilla — a  noted  maker 
of  pianos.  Piazza — in  the  course  of  an  ordinary  conversation 
— suggested  that  his  friend  should  try  and  sell  a  piano  for  him, 
in  Bilbao.  Seilor  Dotesio  consented,  and  succeeded  so  well 
with  his  self-imposed  task  that  many  other  pianos  passed 
through  his  hands,  and  to-day  he  holds  the  unique  position 
of  sole  representative — in  Spain — of  all  the  great  piano 
manufacturers  in  the  world,  including  the  famous  Maison 
Erard  of  Paris. 

It  was  also  by  "  chance  "  that  Don  Luis  Dotesio  went  into 
the  music-publishing  business  ;  he  first  published  a  piece  at 
the  request  of  a  friend,  and  going  from  one  step  to  another 
he  is  to-day  the  only  really  important  music-publisher  in 
Spain.  By  degrees  he  has  acquired  the  sole  rights  of  pubUca- 
tion  of  the  works  of  nearly  all  the  best  Spanish  composers, 
and  he  has  establishments  in  Madrid,  Santander,  Bilbao,  and  in 
Paris — as  well  as  various  branch  establishments  in  the  provinces. 

Sefior  Dotesio  possesses  many  qualities  which  explain  his 

continued  successes  :   he  is  an  absolutely  tireless  worker  and 

a  keen  man  of  business,  while  presenting  the 

W    Is'V"^     appearance  of  a  man  who  dearly  loves  to 

take  things  quietly.     His  manner  is  admirable, 

in  friendship  as  in  business,  and  his  word  is  better  than 

another  man's  oath. 


154  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

I  have  many  delightful  memories  of  the  friendship  which 
I  have  enjoyed  with  Seiior  Dotesio  and  with  his  family.  He 
has  a  quaint  way  of  saying  unexpected  things,  in  a  very  quiet 
manner,  and  his  sense  of  humour  is  sleepless  ! 

It  is  quite  possible  that  it  is  to  this  sense  of  himiour  that 
Seiior  Dot6sio  owes  something  of  his  success,  for  it  is  an  open 
secret  that  musicians  are  not  the  easiest  persons  in  the  world 
to  manage,  and  it  is  certain  that  he  has  managed  to  keep  on 
the  best  of  terms  with  them  all ! 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SPAIN   OF   TO-MORROW 

This  chapter,  which  I  have  called  Spain  of  To-morrow,  is 
dedicated  to  the  memory  of  one  of  the  finest  personaUties 
possessed  by  Spain  in  the  nineteenth  century. 
Angel  Ganivet.  Angel  Ganivet  was  still  a  young  man  when 
he  died  in  the  year  1899  ;  nevertheless,  he  had, 
in  his  short  life,  done  much  for  his  country,  for  his  poetic,  and 
yet  practical  ideals  awakened  enthusiasm  in  the  souls  of  many 
of  his  compatriots  and  he  quickly  came  to  be  proclaimed  "  the 
prophet  of  a  movement  of  spiritual  renaissance  in  Spain." 
Ganivet,  who  was  a  distinguished  scholar,  belonged  to  the 
Spanish  Consular  Service,  and  it  was  at  Helsingfors  that  the 
wonderful  little  book  which  affords  subject  matter  for  this 
chapter  was  written.  I  do  not  think  that  "  Idearium 
Espanol  "  is  well  known,  if  known  at  all,  outside  Spain,  but 
it  contains  very  many  splendid  thoughts,  and  it  gives  a  student 
of  Spain  and  her  people  food  for  serious  reflection. 

In  giving  quotations  from  Ganivet's  "  Idearium  "  I  have 
been  assisted  by  the  general  arrangement  of  the  book  itself, 
which  is  written  in  paragraphs.  I  have  not  attempted  to  do 
more  than  give  a  free  translation  of  the  words,  keeping  as 
close  to  the  sense  as  possible,  because  it  would  be  quite  out  of 
my  power  to  convey  any  adequate  idea  of  the  beauty  of  the 
language  or  of  the  style.  Ganivet — like  all  well-educated 
Spaniards — was  a  master  of  words  and  expressed  himself  in 
the  purest  of  pure  Castilian. 

Within  the  past  eight  or  ten  years  a  number  of  Spanish 
writers  have  published  books  in  which  the  debacle  of  Spain 
has  been  freely  discussed.  Some  of  these  writers  have  taken 
an  exceedingly  pessimistic  view  of  the  situation  while  others 


156  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

have  been  too  frankly  optimistic.  Ganivet  was  neither  an 
optimist  nor  a  pessimist :  he  was  a  poet  and  an  ideahst,  who 
was  capable  of  being  very  practical.  He  was  a  true 
patriot,  and  he  was  not  afraid  to  look  the  situation  full  in 
the  face. 

Here  are  some  quotations  from  "  Idearium  Espafiol  " — 
"  WTien  one  examines  the  ideal  constitution  of  Spain  the 
most  profound  moral,  and  in  a  way,  religious  element  which 
one  finds  in  it,  serving  as  a  cement,  is  stoicism  : 

^of  Snecl"^  "°^  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^°^^  stoicism  of  Cato, 
nor  the  serene  and  majestic  stoicism  of  Marcus 
Aurelius,  nor  the  rigid  and  extreme  stoicism  of  Epictetus,  but 
the  natural  and  human  stoicism  of  Seneca. 

"  Seneca  is  not  a  son  of  Spain  by  chance  :  he  is  a  Spaniard 
in  essence.  He  is  not  an  Andaluz,  because  when  he  was  bom 
the  Vandals  had  not  come  to  Spain,  and  if  he  had  been  born 
later — perhaps  in  the  Middle  Ages — he  would  have  belonged 
to  Castile,  not  Andalusia.  All  the  doctrine  of  Seneca  is 
condensed  into  this  teaching  :  Do  not  let  yourself  be  conquered 
by  anything  foreign  to  your  spirit :  think,  in  the  midst  of  the 
accidents  of  life,  that  you  have  within  you  a  mother-force  : 
something  strong  and  indestructible,  like  a  fine  diamond, 
around  which  gyrate  the  mean  actions  of  our  everyday  life. 
And,  whatever  may  be  the  events  which  befall  you — those 
which  we  call  prosperous  or  those  which  we  call  adverse,  or 
even  those  which  seem  to  injure  us  by  their  contact, — maintain 
yourself  so  firmly  and  proudly  that  at  least  you  may  always 
say  of  yourself  that  you  are  a  man. 

"  This  is  Spanish  :  and  it  is  so  Spanish  that  Seneca  had 
not  to  invent  it  because  he  found  it  invented  already  :  he 
had  only  to  take  it  and  to  give  it  a  perennial  form,  working 
as  true  men  of  genius  work." 


"  A  people  cannot — and  if  it  could  it  ought  not  to — live 
without  glory,  but  glory  may  be  conquered  by  many  different 


Spain  of  To-morrow  157 

means.     Glory  demonstrates  itself  in  various  forms.     There 

is  the  ideal  glory  :  the  most  noble  form,  to  which  one  arrives 

by  the  force  of   intelligence.      There  is  the 

Necessity  for  an  glory  of  the  struggle  for  the  triumph  of  the 

Renaissance,  ideals  of  one  people  against  those  of  another 
people.  There  is  the  glory  of  fierce  combat 
for  material  domination.  There  is  the  sadder  glory  of  mutual 
annihilation  in  interior  struggles.  Spain  has  known  all  these 
forms  of  glory  and  for  a  long  time  has  tasted  abundantly  of 
the  sad  glory :    we  live  in  perpetual  Civil  War. 

"  Our  temperament,  excited  and  enfeebled  by  endless  periods 
of  strife,  cannot  easily  succeed  in  transforming  itself,  in  finding 
a  pacific  means  of  expression,  or  in  manifesting  itself  by  signs 
more  human  than  those  of  arms. 

"  It  is  indispensable  that  our  nation  should  be  forced  to 
recover  itself  rationally,  and  to  do  this  a  new  spiritual  life 
must  be  infused  into  individuals,  and  by  them  transmitted 
into  the  city  and  into  the  State. 

"  We  have  seen  that  our  pohtical  organization  does  not 
depend  on  exterior  forces  :  there  is  no  outside  influence  which 
induces  us  to  adopt  this  or  that  form  of  government.  The 
only  useful  indication  which  we  can  deduct  from  the  examina- 
tion of  our  interior  interests  is  that  we  ought  to  fortify  the 
organization  which  we  have  to-day  and  acquire  a  very  intense 
intellectual  force,  because  our  historic  role  obliges  us  to  trans- 
form our  field  of  action  from  the  material  to  the  spiritual. 

"  Spain  was  the  first  European  nation  made  great  by  the 
policy  of  expansion  and  of  conquest :  she  has  been  the  first 
to  fall  from  such  greatness,  and  it  is  necessary  for  her  now  to 
work  for  a  pohtical  and  social  restoration  of  a  completely 
new  order :  her  position  is  distmct  from  that  of  any  other 
European  nation,  and  she  ought  not  to  imitate  any  of  them  : 
on  the  contrary,  she  ought  herself  to  initiate  a  new  course 
of  procedure,  accommodated  to  events  also  new  in  history. 

"  Neither  French  ideas,  nor  English  nor  German  can  be  of 
use   to   us,  because   we — although   inferior   with   regard   to 


158  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

political  influence — are  superior  and  more  advanced  as  regards 
the  state  in  which  our  natural  evolution  finds  itself.  By  the 
fact  of  losing  her  dominating  force — and  all  nations  have  to 
lose  this — Spain  has  entered  into  a  new  phase  of  her  historic 
life,  and  she  has  to  see  what  direction  is  marked  out  for  her 
by  her  present  interests  and  by  her  traditions." 


"  The  political  problem  which  Spain  has  to  resolve  has  no 

exact  precedent  in  history.     A  nation  which  has  founded 

numerous  nationalities  is  obliged,  after  a  long 

P    bf  period  of  decadence,  to  reconstitute  herself  as 

a  political  force,  animated  by  new  sentiments 

of  expansion.     What  form  must  this  second  evolution  take 

in  order  to  unite  itself  with  the  first  and  not  to  break  the 

historic  unity  to  which  both  ought  to  be  subordinate  ?  Because 

here  the  unity  is  not  an  artifice  but  a  fact :   the  artifice  would 

be  to  cut  short  the  tradition  and  to  pretend  to  begin  a  new 

hfe,  as  if  we  were  a  new  people,  freshly  created. 

"  There  are  many  means  open  to  Spain  by  which  she  might 
take  a  different  course  of  action  than  tliat  indicated  by  her 
history :  but  a  breaking  with  the  past  would  be  a  violation 
of  natural  laws :  a  cowardly  abandonment  of  our  duties  :  a 
sacrifice  of  the  real  to  the  imaginary. 

"  No  new  exterior  action  could  lead  us  to  restore  the 
material  greatness  of  Spain  :  to  re-conquer  the  high  rank 
which  she  had.  Our  new  undertakings  would  be  like  the 
pretentions  of  some  old  roue  who,  instead  of  resignedly 
consecrating  himself  to  the  memory  of  his  noble  youth  and 
romances,  started  in  search  of  new  artificial  affections  which 
would  be  parodies,  ridiculous  when  not  repugnant,  of  the 
beautiful  scenes  of  sentimental  life. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  if,  by  force  of  our  intelligence,  we  should 
arrive  at  reconstituting  a  family  union  of  all  the  Hispanic 
peoples,  and  at  infusing  into  them  the  cult  of  our  ideals,  we 
should  be  fulfilling  a  great  historic  mission,  and  we  should  give 


Spain  of  To-morrow  159 

life  to  a  creation  great,  original,  and  new  in  history.  And  in 
fulfilling  this  mission  we  should  not  be  working  for  the  benefit 
of  an  idea,  generous,  but  without  practical  utility,  but  we 
should  be  working  for  our  own  interests :  for  interests  more 
transcendental  than  the  conquest  of  some  leagues  of  territory. 
"  Given  the  fact  that  we  have  exhausted  our  forces  of 
material  expansion,  to-day  we  must  change  our  tactics  and 
bring  to  light  forces  which  can  never  be  exhausted — the  forces 
of  the  intelligence  which  exist  latent  in  Spain  and  which  can, 
v/hen  developed,  raise  us  to  great  creations  which,  satisfying 
our  aspirations  for  a  noble  and  glorious  life,  shall  serve  us 
materially." 


"  If  I  were  consulted  as  a  spiritual  doctor,  to  formulate 

the  diagnosis  of  the  malady  from  which  the  Spaniards  suffer — 

because  there  exists  a  malady,  and  it  is  one 

Di^'lSs^'      difiicult    to    cure— I    should    say    that    the 

malady  might  be  designated  by  the  name  of 

no-querer  "  (lack  of  will-power),  "  or,  in  more  scientific  terms, 

by  the  Greek  word  '  aboulia,'  which  signifies  the  same  thing — 

'  extinction,  or  serious  weakness,  of  the  wiU.'     And  I  would 

sustain  my  opinion,  if   it  were  necessary,  by  references  to 

famous   authorities  since,   from   Esquirol   and   Maudsley   to 

Ribot  and  Pierre  Janet,  a  long  series  of  psychologists  have 

studied  this  disease,  in  which  is  revealed,  perhaps  more  clearly 

than  in  any  other,  the  influence  of  mental  perturbation  upon 

the  organic  functions. 

"  There  is  an  ordinary  form  of  '  aboulia '  which  we  all 
know  and  at  times  suffer  from.  Who  has  not  from  time  to 
time  been  invaded  by  a  perplexity  of  spirit  born  of  weakness, 
or  of  the  inertia  consequent  on  prolonged  inaction,  in  which 
the  will,  for  want  of  a  dominating  idea  to  move  it,  vacillates 
between  opposing  ideas  which  counterbalance  each  other, 
or  dominated  by  an  abstract  idea  incapable  of  realisation, 
remains  irresolute,  without  knowing  what  to  do  and  without 


160  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

the  power  to  determine  to  do  anything  ?  When  such  a  tran- 
sient situation  becomes  chronic  it  constitutes  '  abouHa,'  the 
outward  sign  of  which  is  the  repugnance  of  the  will  to  dictate 
free  act  on. 

"  In  the  sufferer  from  '  abouha  '  there  is  a  beginning  of 
movement  which  shows  that  the  will  is  not  absolutely  extinct, 
but  this  movement  is  feeble  and  rarely  arrives  at  accomplishing 
anything." 

ilfi  ilf  iti  ^f  *  * 

"  The  intellectual  S5miptoms  of  '  aboulia '  are  various.    The 

attention  is  enfeebled,  more  especially  when  the  object  which 

attracts  it  is  new  or  strange  :  the  understand- 

' '  Aboulia. ' '      ing  appears  to  be  petrified,  and  it  is  incapable 

of  assimilating  new  ideas  :  it  is  only  active  in 

reviving  the  memory  of    past  events.     But  if  it  arrives  at 

acquiring  a  new  idea  it  falls,  for  the  want  of  other  ideas  to 

counterbalance  it,  from  debihty  into  exaltation  :   it  falls  into 

the  '  fixed  idea,'  to  which  it  is  dragged  by  a  violent  impulse." 

9|c  :|c  3|c  :|e  )|c  4« 

"  Our  ancient  and  melancholy  continental  policy  is  abso- 
lutely exhausted,  dead  and  buried.     Apart  from  commercial 
and  neighbourly  relations  nothing  exists  which 
Spain  and       obliges  Spain  to  mix  herself  up  with  European 
Poufics"       matters.     We  have  a  natural  frontier,  very 
clearly  defined,  and  our  territorial  policy  is  one 
of  voluntary  retirement  which,  if  it  were  not  in  itself  as  logical 
as  it  is,  would  have  to  be  accepted  for  reasons  of  decorum. 

"  When  an  eminent  actor  observes  that  his  faculties  are 
beginning  to  weaken  and  decay,  by  the  inevitable  action  of 
Time,  there  is  no  noble  and  decent  solution  for  him  except 
that  of  retirement :  he  should  not  permit  himself  to  be 
degraded  by  the  acceptance  of  secondary  roles  which  will  lead 
to  the  final  and  humiliating  part  of  first  or  second  servant, 
whose  intervention  is  reduced  to  the  announcement  of  the 
sacramental  words — '  Madame  is  served  !  ' 


Spain  of  To-morrow  161 

"  Spain  has  been  in  Europe  a  great  tragic  actor,  and  she 
cannot  accept  as  a  gracious  concession  the  role  of  '  Great 
Power,'  which  some  politicians,  as  restless  as  they  are  ignorant, 
think  should  suffice  to  endow  us  with  a  strength  which  we  do 
not  as  yet  possess. 

"  In  this  matter  I  think  our  standard  of  conduct  ought  to 
be  so  rigid  that  it  would  refuse  to  complicate  itself  with  con- 
tinental affairs,  even  though  such  action  might  appear 
necessary  for  the  support  of  home  policy  :  because,  however 
great  might  be  the  benefits  obtained,  they  would  never  com- 
pensate us  for  the  pernicious  consequences  which  would 
necessarily  have  to  be  derived  from  political  action  contrary 
to  the  essence  of  our  territory." 


"  A  restoration  of  the  entire  life  of  Spain  cannot  have  any 

other  starting  point  than  the  concentration  of  all  our  energies 

within  our  own  territory.     We  must  close, 

'  which  the  Spanish  spirit  could  escape  from 
Spain  to  spread  itself  over  the  four  points  of  the  horizon — 
points  from  which  Spaniards  seem  to  imagine  that  salvation 
has  to  come.  And  on  each  of  our  gates  we  should  not  put  the 
Dantesque  legend  which  reads  :  '  Lasciate  ogni  speranza,'  but 
rather  this  other  inscription,  more  consoling,  more  profoundly 
human,  imitated  from  Saint  Augustine  :  '  Noli  foras  ire  :  in 
interiore  Hispania  habitat  Veritas.'  " 


"  From  all  that  I  have  previously  said  it  may  be  inferred 

that  it  is  absurd  to  claim  that  our  nation  can  recover  its  lost 

health  by  means  of  exterior  action  :  if  in  the 

Origin  of       little   that  we   do   to-day  our  feebleness  is 

Decadence.      revealed,  what  would  occur  if  we  tried  to 

move  more  rapidly  ?    The  restoration  of  our 

forces  demands  a  prudent  management,  a  slow  and  gradual 


162  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

advance,  and  an  absolute  subordination  of  action  to 
intelligence. 

"  In  order  that  our  action  should  be  useful  and  productive 
calm  thought  must  precede  action,  and  in  order  to  think  it  is 
necessary  in  the  first  place  to  have  a  head.  This  important 
organ  has  been  wanting  to  us  for  a  long  time,  and  we  must 
create  it,  at  whatever  cost. 

"  I  am  not  of  those  who  ask  for  a  genius,  invested  with  the 
powers  of  Dictator.  A  genius  would  be  an  artificial  head 
which  would  presently  leave  us  in  a  worse  state  than  we  are 
in  at  present.  The  origin  of  our  decadence  and  present 
prostration  may  be  found  in  our  excessive  action  :  in  the  fact 
that  we  have  achieved  enormous  undertakings  which  were 
out  of  proportion  to  our  strength.  A  new  Dictator  at  the 
head  of  affairs  would  use  us  like  blind  forces,  and  when  he 
disappeared  the  intelhgent  force  would  vanish  with  him  and 
we  should  be  again  submerged  without  having  advanced  a 
step  in  the  work  of  re-establishing  our  power,  which  ought 
to  reside  in  all  the  individuals  of  the  nation  and  to  be  founded 
upon  the  combined  action  of  individual  forces." 


"  The  terms  '  warlike  spirit '  and  '  military  spirit  *  are  often 

made  interchangeable,  nevertheless  there  are  few  terms  more 

distinctly  opposed  to  each  other  than  these. 

Warlike  Spirit    ^t  the  first  glance  it  will  be  seen  that  the 

versus  .... 

Military  Spirit,    warlike  spirit  is  spontaneous  and  the  miUtary 

spirit  cultivated  :    that  one  resides  in  the  man 

and  the  other  in  the  society :    that  one  is  a  force  against 

organization  and  the  other  a  force  of  organization.     A  man 

armed  to  the  teeth  proclaims  his  weakness ;  when  not,  his 

cowardice  ;    a  man  who  fights  without  arms  gives  one  to 

understand  that  he  has  absolute  confidence  in  his  valour.     A 

country  which  has  perfect  confidence  in  its  own  strength 

disdains  militarism,  while  a  nation  which  does  not  feel  itself 

secure  puts  all  its  faith  in  the  barracks. 


Spain  of  To-morrow  163 

"  Spain  is  essentially,  because  such  is  demanded  by  the  spirit 
of  its  territory,  a  warlike,  but  not  a  military,  nation.  Open  the 
history  of  Spain,  at  whatever  point  you  will,  you  will  see  con- 
stantly the  same  thing :  a  people  struggling  without  organization. 

"  In  the  Roman  period  we  know  that  Numancia  preferred 
to  perish  rather  than  yield  ;  but  we  do  not  know  who  acted 
as  a  head,  and  we  are  almost  sure  that  there  was  no  head  ; 
we  look  for  armies  and  we  only  find  irregular  troops,  and  the 
figure  which  stands  out  in  prominence  is  not  that  of  a  regular 
chief,  or  king,  but  that  of  Viriato — a  guernllero.  In  the 
re-conquest,  among  kings,  wise  men  and  saints,  the  national 
figure  is  the  Cid,  a  wandering  king,  a  guerrillero  who  worked 
on  his  own  account. 

"  Later  on,  when  those  who  fought  sought  the  assistance 
of  rehgion,  they  were  not  content  with  invoking  Divine  aid, 
but  they  transformed  Santiago  into  a  warrior :  not  into  a 
general,  but  into  a  simple  cavalry  soldier. 

"  And  this  is  not  the  exclusive  work  of  religion,  of  hatred 
for  the  infidels,  since  in  our  century,  against  the  French 
Christians,  Aragon  transformed  the  Virgen  del  Pilar  into  a 
captain  of  the  Aragonese  troops." 


"  The  Golden  Age  of  Spanish  Art,  admirable  as  it  was,  only 

dictates  what  it  might  have  been,  if,  on  the  termination  of  the 

re-conquest  we  had  concentrated  our  forces 

Retrospection,  and  had  applied  them  to  giving  form  to  our 
own  ideals.  The  energy  accumulated  in  our 
struggle  against  the  Arabs  was  not  only  a  warlike  energy,  as 
man}^  believe  ;  it  was  also  a  spiritual  energy.  If  historic 
fatality  had  not  put  us  on  the  dovvTiward  slope  we  should, 
in  proportion  to  the  transformation  into  action  of  our  national 
force,  have  been  able  to  maintain  ourselves  enclosed  in  our 
territory,  in  a  more  intense  and  a  more  intimate  life,  and  we 
shoidd  have  made  of  our  nation  a  Christian  Greece." 


164  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

"  I  have  faith  in  the  spiritual  future  of  Spain,  and  in  this 
I    am,    perhaps,    exaggeratedly    optimistic.     Our    material 

aggrandisement  will  never  lead  us  to  obscure 
A  Final  Word,  the  past.     Our  intellectual  renaissance  will 

convert  the  Golden  Age  of  our  arts  into  a 
herald  of  that  future  Golden  Age  which  I  believe  lies  before  us. 
Because  in  our  works  we  shall  have  a  force  to-day  unknown  : 
a  noble  and  pure  force  which  lives  latent  in  our  nation. 
This  mysterious  force  has  always  been  within  us,  and  although 
up  to  the  present  it  has  not  shown  itself,  it  accompanies  us 
and  watches  over  us.  To-day  it  is  disconnected  and  feeble : 
to-morrow  it  will  blossom  forth  and  produce  light  and  heat — 
even  electricity  and  magnetism." 

"  As  firmly  as  I  believe  that  in  the  matter  of  material 
domination  many  European  peoples  are  superior  to  us,  so 
firmly  do  I  believe  that  for  ideal  creation  no  nation  has  such 
natural  aptitudes  as  ours. 

"  Our  spirit  appears  coarse  because  it  has  been  roughened 
by  brutal  struggles  ;  it  appears  weak  because  it  has  been 
nourished  on  ridiculous  ideas,  copied  without  discernment. 
It  appears  wanting  in  originality  because  it  has  lost  its 
audacity  and  its  faith  in  its  own  ideas  :  because  it  has  looked 
from  without  for  that  which  it  already  possessed — within. 

"  We  must  make  a  collective  Act  of  Contrition. 

"  We  must  cultivate  and  feed  upon  our  own  resources, 
although  the  effort  may  cost  us  much,  for  in  this  way  we  shall 
have  spiritual  bread  for  ourselves  and  for  our  family,  which 
at  present  goes  begging  about  the  world,  and  our  material 
conquests  may  even  be  fruitful  because  in  our  second-birth 
we  shall  find  a  number  of  kindred  peoples  whom  we  can  mark 
with  the  stamp  of  our  spirit." 

I  have  only  been  able  to  give  a  few  disconnected  paragraphs 
from   the   wonderful  little   "  Idearium   Espanol "   of  Angel 


Spain  of  To-morrow  165 

Ganivet,  but  I  hope  that  these  may  serve  as  landmarks  for 
those  who  care  to  study  the  Spanish  Problem  seriously. 

I  do  not  claim  that  everything  written  by  Ganivet  deserves 
to  be  accepted  as  inspired  work,  but  it  seems  to  me  certain 
that  he  has  probed  deeply  into  a  wound,  the  existence  of 
which  no  one  is  prepared  to  deny. 

In  the  paragraph  which  I  have  headed  "  Origin  of  Spanish 
Decadence,"  the  heart  of  the  matter  is  disclosed.  Spain  has 
suffered  from  the  faults  of  her  qualities.  She  has  always  been 
the  land  of  great  individuals  ;  she  has  always  produced 
powerful  leaders  who  dominated  peoples  and  circumstances 
by  sheer  strength  of  individual  will. 

There  is  that  in  the  Spanish  nature  which,  when  aroused, 
is  capable  of  carrying  all  before  it :  an  indomitable,  if  often 
blind,  force  which  cannot  be  denied.  Again  and  again  this 
has  shown  itself,  and  Angel  Ganivet  spoke  but  the  simple 
truth  when  he  said  that  few  things  were  more  fatal  than 
"  enormous  achievements,  out  of  proportion  to  the  national 
strength." 

"  Idearium  Espanol "  was  published  just  before  the  Cuban 
War,  two  years  before  the  sad  death  of  its  gifted  author. 


li— (2399) 


CHAPTER   IX 

CHURCHES   AND    MONUMENTS 

It  has  been  said  that  all  lovers  of  Spain  find  themselves  the 

prey  of  mixed  emotions  on  visiting  Granada  !     This  is  a 

sweeping  assertion  and  not  a  little  misleading, 

The  Alhambra.  but  it  is  probable  that  its  roots  have  been 

cherished  by  the  waters  of  truth,  for  Granada, 

at  first  sight,  seems  to  fall  very  short  of  the  wonderful  Moorish 

capital  of  our  imagination  :  that  romantic  city  which  remained 

the  stronghold  of  the  Caliphs  for  two  centuries  and  a  half 

after  the  triumph  of  the  Christians  in  Cordova,  in  Sevilla, 

and  in  Toledo. 

Let  those  who  wiU  testify  to  the  contrary,  Granada  of  the 
present  day  is  a  City  of  the  Dead.  The  Alhambra  is  the 
vast  and  unrivalled  Valhalla  of  the  Moorish  kings  ! 

Modem  life  in  the  ancient  capital  is  a  parasitic  growth  : 
but  with  this  modern  life  we  are  not  concerned. 

In  the  Hall  of  the  Ambassadors,  in  the  exquisite  Court  of 
Lions,  in  the  fragrant  gardens  of  the  Generalife,  we  find — 
if  we  but  look  for  them — the  spirits  of  Mohammed  V,  who, 
in  the  Court  of  Myrtles,  is  eulogised  in  such  glowing  words  as 
these  :  "  Thou  givest  safety  from  the  breeze  to  the  blades  of 
grass,  and  inspirest  terror  in  the  very  stars  of  Heaven.  When 
the  shining  stars  quiver,  it  is  through  dread  of  thee,  and  when 
the  grass  of  the  field  bends  down  it  is  to  give  thee  thanks  "  ;  of 
Aisha,  the  wife  of  Abu'1-Has-an,  whose  happiness  was  wrecked 
by  the  charms  of  the  beautiful  Spanish  slave  Zorayah — the 
"  Morning  Star  "  ;  of  Boabdil,  the  luckless  son  of  Aisha, 
who,  in  the  year  1491,  was  forced  to  deliver  up  the  keys  of  the 
Alhambra  to  Ferdinand  of  Aragon,  and  of  whose  life -story  an 
Arab  historian  has  written — 


Photo  b\ 


FERXAXDEZ   ARBOS 


Churches  and  Monuments  167 

"  Blessed  be  Allah,  who  exalteth  and  abaseth  the  kings  of 
the  earth  according  to  his  divine  will,  in  the  fulfilment  of 
which  consists  that  eternal  justice  which  regulates  all  human 
affairs." 

Countless  other  restless  spirits,  who  in  past  days  bore  great 
names,  people  the  Alhambra  and  take  their  pleasure  on  the 
matchless  Vega,  and  it  is  into  this  society  of  invisible  kings 
and  nobles  that  we  must  enter  if  we  are  to  appreciate  and 
understand  Granada. 

I  have  often  wished  to  offer  my  services  as  guide  to  persons 
visiting  Granada  for  the  first  time  :  so  much,  so  very  much, 
depends  on  first  impressions,  and  in  so  many  cases  these  are 
absolutely  and  hopelessly  wrong  ! 

To  obtain  the  best  from  the  best  it  should  be  so  arranged 
that  this  pilgrimage  to  the  "  Glory  of  the  Kings  "  should 
begin  in  the  afternoon  of  a  hot  day  in  late  spring.  And  the 
first  hours  in  Granada  ought,  if  possible,  to  be  spent  in  the 
Generalife — the  magnificent  summer  palace  of  the  Moorish 
kings. 

Here,  more  markedly  than  in  any  other  part  of  Andalusia, 
we  find  an  atmosphere  purely  Moorish :  palace,  courts, 
gardens,  and  architecture  alike  recall  the  glories  of  the  past, 
and  it  does  not  require  a  very  vivid  imagination  to  people 
with  stately  forms  the  great  avenue  of  sombre  cypress  trees 
through  which  we  approach  the  palace.  The  wealth  of 
glorious  flowers  and  foliage  in  the  garden  court  comes  as  a 
revelation :  jessamines,  myrtles,  orange  blossoms,  and  a 
hundred  other  sweet-smelling  flowers  grow  on  all  sides  in 
luxuriant  abundance,  and  the  walls  are  literally  covered  with 
pale  yellow  roses. 

I  once  heard  a  writer,  an  inveterate  traveller,  say  that  in 
all  the  world  only  three  things  had  failed  to  disappoint  him : 
the  Taj  Mahal,  the  Mosque  at  Cordova,  and  the  Generalife  ! 

And  then,  just  before  sunset,  make  a  visit  to  San  Miguel  el 
Alto,  from  which  a  splendid  view  is  obtained.  The  Alhambra, 
with  its  red  walls  and  tiled  roofs,  and  its  base  of  vivid  green  : 


168  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

the  wonderful,  silent,  Vega,  which  spreads  itself  out  like 
a  great  carpet  of  young  green  under  the  shadow  of  the 
"  Mountains  of  the  Moon." 

And  then,  later  on,  the  nightingales  will  serenade  you  from 
their  home  in  the  forest  of  elms  which,  so  it  is  said,  were 
planted  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  And  with  the  moonlight 
and  the  nightingales  the  glamour  of  Granada  will  enter  into 
possession  of  its  kingdom  ! 

Of  the  Alhambra  much  has  been  written  and  said,  but  its 
subtle  charms  have  not  yet  been  exhausted.  Individual 
minds  find  individual  points  of  special  interest,  but  I  think 
that  if  it  were  put  to  the  vote  it  would  be  found  that  to  true 
lovers  of  Andalusia  the  Court  of  Lions  in  the  "  Red  Palace  " 
heads  the  list  of  favourites.  And  yet  it  is  quite  small,  this 
world-famous  court :  smaller  than  the  Court  of  M3a-tles  close 
by.  In  the  centre  is  the  Lion  Fountain,  with  its  twelve 
Byzantine  beasts  crouching  in  stiff  poses :  lions  with  round 
and  flattened  heads  and  semicircular  ears,  with  looped  up 
manes  and  solid,  square  legs.  And  from  the  mouth  of  each 
beast  there  comes  a  great  spout  of  clear  water  ! 

And  surrounding  the  Lion  Fountain  there  is  a  delicious 
arcade  supported  by  delicate  columns,  and  these  columns  are 
covered  with  a  network  of  fine  lace,  cut  into  the  stone. 

When  you  stand  under  the  arcades  of  the  Court  of  Lions 
and  feast  your  eyes  on  the  gleaming  tiles  and  mosaics — a 
bewildering  scheme  of  azure  and  ivory,  your  thoughts  uncon- 
sciously go  back  to  Boabdil  the  luckless,  and  you  understand 
that  he  was  justified  in  saying,  "  Woe  is  me.  When  was 
sorrow  ever  equal  to  mine  ?  "  as  he  turned  and  looked  upon 
his  lost  Alhambra — for  the  last  time. 

The  best  known  feature  of  the  Alhambra  is  the  Hall  of  the 
Ambassadors,  at  the  base  of  the  Tower  of  Comares.  Here 
the  Moorish  love  of  splendour  of  colour  and  elaborate  design 
is  most  perfectly  realised. 

It  is  a  lofty  room  with  alcoves  on  three  sides  and  the  walls 
are  covered  with  the  richest  ornamentations  it  is  possible  to 


Churches  and  Monuments  169 

imagine.  Each  of  the  nine  alcoves  shows  a  different  scheme 
of  decoration,  the  designs  being  of  exceeding  intricacy 
and  dehcate  as  the  finest  embroidery.  It  is  asserted  that 
150  different  designs  may  be  found  on  the  walls  of  this 
unique  Hall  of  Ambassadors.  The  roof  is  made  of  larch 
wood,  and  is  intricately  carved  and  inset  with  ivory  and 
mother-of-pearl. 

So  gorgeous  is  the  colouring  in  this  room  that  it  is  a  relief  to 
pass  out  into  the  Court  of  Myrtles,  where  the  pavement  is  of 
marble  and  where  a  long  pool  of  clear  water  gleams  silver 
against  its  frame  of  myrtle  hedges.  Between  the  Hall  of  the 
Ambassadors  and  the  Patio  de  la  Alberca,  or  Court  of  Myrtles, 
lies  the  Sala  de  la  Barca,  the  atrium  of  the  Tower  of  Comares. 
Everywhere  in  the  Alhambra  inscriptions  are  to  be  found, 
but  of  those  over  the  arches  of  the  recesses  in  the  Sala  de  la 
Barca  one  is  specially  worthy  of  mention,  for  it  is  delightfully 
poetic. 

"  He  who  comes  to  me,  tortured  by  thirst,  will  find  water, 
pure  and  fresh,  sweet  and  unmixed.  I  am  like  the  rainbow, 
when  it  shines,  and  the  sun  is  my  lord." 

The  Mosque  of  Cordova  is  caUed  "  The  Wonder  of  Spain," 

and  with  reason.     It  is  so  wonderful  that  mere  words  are 

unequal  to  the  task  of  describing  it :   it  must 

The  Mosque  of  ^^   f^j^   ^^   1^^   reahsed.     It   is   an  immense 

Cordova.         ,     .,  ,.  .  ,  o 

buildmg,    covenng   as  much   ground   as   St. 

Peter's  at  Rome,  and  it  was  built — so  we  are  told  by  learned 
men — without  a  plan.  More  than  this,  its  architects  were 
Arabs  who — again  I  bow  before  the  knowledge  of  the  learned 
— understood  nothing  of  architectural  laws.  By  men  who 
were  "  utterly  deficient  in  constructive  ingenuity  "  ! 

It  frequently  happens  in  Spain,  especially  in  the  south,  that 
the  doings  of  the  ancients  attract  attention  to  the  doings  of 
the  moderns,  and  in  Cordova — on  passing  from  the  Court  of 
Oranges  into  the  Mosque,  with  its  860  columns  and  its  nineteen 
exquisite  aisles — the  temptation  comes  to  invoke  the  spirit 
of  Allah  and  to  murmur,  "  I  wonder  ?  " 


170  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

In  the  interior  of  the  Mosque  the  original  roof  was  of  deU- 
cately-carved  larch  wood,  enriched  with  gorgeous  incrustations 
in  Vermillion  and  gold  :  from  this  roof  300  chandeliers — 
showing  about  8,000  lamps — were  suspended.  The  Koran 
was  kept  in  a  pulpit  of  ivory  and  rare  woods,  incrusted  with 
precious  stones.  In  the  year  1713  the  superb  roof  of  the 
Mosque  had  to  be  repaired  throughout,  and  at  that  period 
the  cross- vaulting,  at  present  seen,  was  introduced.  In  all 
Mosques  the  chief  point  of  interest  and  of  supreme  beauty 
is  the  Mihrab,  or  prayer-niche,  which  is  always  placed  in  the 
direction  of  Mecca. 

In  the  Mosque  of  Cordova  there  were  originally  three 
Mihrabs,  but  of  these  the  first  has  entirely  disappeared.  The 
second  Mihrab,  which  was  constructed  by  Abderrahman  II 
about  the  year  835,  has  a  glorious  roof  of  shell,  cut  from  a  single 
block,  which  contrasts  most  effectively  with  the  roof  of  the 
vestibule  just  outside,  which  is  enriched  with  mosaics  in  vivid 
shades  of  vermillion  and  emerald  and  sapphire  and  gold. 

The  third  Mihrab  is  regarded  as  the  gem  of  the  whole 
building.  It  was  erected  by  Al-Hakim  about  the  year  965, 
and  for  the  decoration  of  this  Holy  of  Holies  the  then  Greek 
Emperor  of  Constantinople  sent  a  vast  number  of  skilled 
workmen  to  Cordova,  with  400  cwts.  of  mosaic  tesserae. 
Al-Hakim  at  the  same  time  erected  a  new  Maksura,  which 
was  the  railed  platform  reserved  for  the  Caliph  and  his  court. 

In  wandering  through  the  Mosque — and  it  does  not  reveal 
its  most  precious  charms  to  those  who  only  devote  a  few  hours 
to  its  contemplation — special  points  are  frequently  reached 
from  which  new  and  rare  beauties  are  discovered.  For 
example,  in  the  extreme  south  of  the  building  in  the  Segunda 
Ampliacion  of  Al-Hakim  II,  there  is  a  wonderful  view  of  the 
mosaics  :  the  soft  but  brilliant  light  glints  on  the  pavement 
of  purest  marble  and  touches  gently  the  gold  lettering  of  the 
Arab  inscriptions  on  their  background  of  deepest,  most 
Heavenly  blue. 

I  drew  attention  a  little  time  ago  to  the  fact  that  the  Mosque 


-1  ndcrson,   Rome 


THE    ALHAMBRA 


Churches  and  Monuments  171 

at  Cordova  was  built  "  without  plan  "  and  by  persons  "  defi- 
cient in  constructive  ingenuity,"  and  it  is  impossible  to  avoid 
reflecting  on  these  facts  when  contemplating  the  great 
Renaissance  Choir  which  was  erected  by  the  Christians  in  the 
very  midst  of  this  enchanting  building. 

It  was  in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V,  just  about 
the  time  of  the  Reformation,  that  this  choir  was  built,  and  so 
great  a  wave  of  indignation  did  it  create  in  Cordova  that  it 
is  on  record  that  the  Town  Council  threatened  with  death  all 
those  who  took  part  in  the  work.  However,  these  threats  were 
of  no  avail,  and  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Mosque,  which  was  one 
of  the  wonders  of  the  world,  the  Renaissance  Choir  was  built. 

In  later  days  even  the  Emperor  himself  repented  of  what 
he  had  permitted  to  be  done,  and  visiting  the  Mosque  he 
exclaimed  :  "  Why  was  I  not  told  of  the  wonder  of  this 
building  ?  You  have  built  what  you  or  any  others  could 
have  erected  anywhere,  but  you  have  destroyed  something 
that  was  unique  in  the  whole  world." 

Of  the  many  points  of  interest  connected  with  the  ancient 
Mezquita — or  Mosque — of  the  Arabs,  none  is  more  enthralling 
than  the  study  of  how  and  why  this  "  Wonder  of  the  World  " 
arrived  at  its  fulness  of  beauty  and  grace.  It  represents  a 
great  work  of  love,  and  of  fervent  reverence,  for,  as  Khalif 
succeeded  Khalif,  each  one  added  some  new  and  rare  beauty 
to  the  holy  place.  One  overlaid  the  myriads  of  columns 
with  purest  gold  :  another  sent  for  the  best  Byzantine  artists 
to  enrich  the  walls  with  mosaics :  yet  another  decorated  the 
walls  and  entrance  gates.  One  of  the  most  famous  of  the 
Khalifs  added  a  large  and  specially  beautiful  minaret  which 
was  crowned  with  apples  of  gold  and  silver.  Each  ruler  gave 
of  the  best  he  could  procure  to  add  to  the  glory  of  AUah  and 
of  the  sanctuary  of  the  Koran. 

Cordova  itself  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  cities  of  Spain. 
In  the  long  ago  days  it  was  called  "  The  Bride  of  Andalusia," 
and  even  to  the  present  day  it  retains  much  of  its  fresh  and 
gentle  charm  ;   it  is  a  curiously  silent  city. 


172  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

Beautifully  situated — far  more  beautifully  than  Sevilla — 
on  a  gentle  incline,  the  city  at  first  sight  suggests  an  amphi- 
theatre :  it  is  spread  out  on  a  semicircular  hill  and  below 
is  the  silver  streak  of  the  Guadalquiver. 

Cordova  is  still  essentially  a  Moorish  city.  Viewed  from 
the  tower  of  the  Cathedral,  the  tiled  roofs  of  the  lime-washed 
houses  show  burnt  amber  against  the  sapphire  sky.  A 
burning  southern  sun  showers  melted  gold  on  the  Bridge  of 
Calahorra,  and  on  the  masses  of  thick-spreading  olives  ;  here 
and  there  great  palm  trees  are  silhouetted  against  the  sky. 
A  City  of  Sleep — a  City  of  Memories.  A  city  in  which  it  is 
worth  while  to  pause  and  think  of  the  past.  Of  the  days 
when  the  Visigothic  King  Leovigild  took  the  towTi  from  the 
Byzantines  and  in  571  made  it  an  episcopal  see.  Of  the  days 
when  Cordova,  as  capital  of  the  Caliphate,  became  one  of  the 
wealthiest  cities  of  Europe  and  a  centre  of  learning.  Of  the 
gorgeous  days  of  its  greatest  grandeur  and  prosperity  in  the 
reigns  of  Abderrahman  II  and  Abderrahman  III,  from  the 
year  822  to  961.  And  then,  as  a  contrast,  to  contemplate, 
for  a  moment,  Cordova  in  later  days,  under  the  sway  of  the 
Christians,  when — to  quote  a  well-known  writer — "  The 
magnificent  buildings,  the  marvels  of  which  are  celebrated 
by  Arabic  writers  with  Oriental  hyperbole,  feU  into  ruin  :  the 
irrigation-works  were  neglected,  and  the  once  exuberantly 
fertile  campifia  became  a  barren  steppe." 

It  is  not  far  from  Cordova  to  Sevilla :  only  about  three 
hours  and  a  half  in  the  train.     And  it  is  certain  that  all  those 

who  read  these  pages  must  see  Sevilla — for  the 
Sevilla.         first  time — in  the  spring  season.     I  claim  this 

as  a  reward  for  any  moment  of  pleasure  or 
of  profit  I  may  have  been  able  to  give  them  !  For  in  the 
spring  season  Sevilla  is  in  full  beauty.  Fresh,  fragrant,  and 
brilhantly  gay  as  a  young  beauty  in  the  first  glories  of  a 
successful  debut. 

I  am  aware  that  many  writers  on  Spain  are  of  opinion  that 
southern  cities  are  only  at  their  best  in  the  full  blaze  of 


l)i,(V;s,.»,    A'oni,' 


MOSOUE    AT    CORDOVA 


Churches  and  Monuments  173 

midsummer,  but  with  this  idea  I  am  not  in  accord.  January, 
February,  March,  April,  May,  and  then  again  October, 
November,  and  December,  are  all  good  months  in  which  to 
travel  in  Andalusia,  but  of  these  months  April  must  most 
surely  be  awarded  first  place. 

Sevilla  is,  amongst  Andalusian  cities,  a  thing  apart.  If  it 
were  entirely  a  woman  instead  of  being  merely  emblematic 
of  the  feminine  sex  every  Spaniard  would  describe  it  as — 
"  Muy  simpdtica  !    Muy  espanola  !  " 

And  higher  words  of  praise  than  these  no  Spaniard  can  speak. 
With  infinite  delight  I  could  fill  many  pages  with  descriptions 
of  a  spot  which,  to  me,  is  full  of  enchantment,  but  this  chapter 
is  devoted  to  "  Churches  and  Monuments,"  and  of  these 
alone  I  must  treat :  happily  Sevilla  is  specially  rich  in  both 
one  and  the  other. 

The  Cathedral  of  Sevilla  is  almost  the  largest  Gothic  church 

in  Christendom.     Its  total  area  is  124,000  sq.  ft.,  as  compared 

with  St.   Paul's  in   London,   84,000;    Milan 

^'Ssevmf^^  Cathedral,  90,000,  and  St.  Peter's  at  Rome, 
162,000.  It  was  in  the  year  1401  that  the 
Cathedral  of  Sevilla  was  first  planned,  and  it  was  designed 
by  foreign  architects — German,  it  is  supposed.  In  general 
arrangement  it  differs  considerably  from  the  large  churches 
of  England  and  France,  for  the  choir  is  almost  in  the  centre  of 
the  church  and  the  capilla  mayor,  in  which  is  the  High  Altar, 
is  slightly  to  the  east.  And  then  the  choir  and  capilla  mayor 
are  enclosed  in  a  massive  construction,  so  that  we  find  a 
church  within  a  church. 

In  its  decoration  the  Cathedral  is  very  Spanish  ;  that  is 
to  say,  it  is  rich  in  the  beautiful  carved  woodwork  and  magni- 
ficent iron  screens  for  which  Spain  has  always  been  famous. 
The  leading  note  of  the  cathedral  is  noble  simplicity  and  quiet 
magnificence,  and  the  light  which  enters  through  the  seventy- 
five  stained-glass  windows  is  delightfully  subdued :  too 
subdued  to  permit  of  a  good  view  of  the  art  treasures  of 
the  side  chapels.     It  is,  however,  quite  possible  to  see  and 


174  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

appreciate  the  beauty  of  the  sculptured  "  Christ  on  the  Cross," 
by  Montafies,  in  the  Sacristia  de  los  Cahces,  and,  on  a  clear 
day,  the  wonderful  "  St.  Anthony's  Vision  of  the  Holy  Child," 
which  is  one  of  Murillo's  masterpieces  :  this  picture  hangs 
on  the  wall  of  the  Capilla  del  Bautisterio. 

The  magnificence  of  the  treasure  carefully  guarded  in  the 
Sacristia  Mayor  of  the  Cathedral  must  be  seen  to  be  realised  : 
it  does  not  fall  very  short,  in  value,  of  the  treasure  of  St. 
Peter's  !  The  vestments  alone  are  a  marvellous  sight :  200 
copes  laden  with  priceless  embroideries ;  chasubles  dating 
from  the  fourteenth  century  to  the  present  day,  each  one  a 
notable  specimen  of  the  embroideress's  art :  golden  caskets, 
monstrances  studded  with  precious  stones,  the  silver  Custodia 
of  Juan  de  Arphe  which  is  ten  feet  high,  and  the  great  silver 
altar,  etc.,  etc. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  parts  of  the  Cathedral  is  the 
Capilla  de  los  Reyes  which  is  enclosed  by  a  remarkably  fine 
screen.  In  this  chapel  there  is  the  silver  coffin  containing 
the  body  of  San  Fernando — Ferdinand  III  who  finally  drove 
the  Moors  out  of  Sevilla.  The  body  is  in  an  extraordinary 
state  of  preservation,  and  each  year  on  May  14th  and  31st, 
August  22nd  and  November  23rd,  this  body  is  exhibited  to 
the  public  while  the  troops  march  past  and  salute  it. 

I  have  witnessed  many  ceremonies  in  Sevilla  Cathedral,  but 
none  more  impressive  than  this  homage  to  the  long  dead  hero. 
The  blast  of  trumpets  as  the  troops  line  up  in  front  of  the 
coffin  seems  like  the  final  call  for  the  dead  to  arise  ! 

Also  in  this  Capilla  we  find,  at  the  back  of  the  High  Altar, 
the  famous  figure  of  the  Virgen  de  los  Reyes,  to  whom  the 
ladies  of  Sevilla,  in  1905,  presented  crowns  valued  at  ;{30,000. 

There  is  a  romantic  and  mysterious  story  connected  with 
this  figure  ;  it  was  said  that  on  the  day  that  the  keys  of 
Sevilla  were  delivered  up  into  the  hands  of  King  Fernando 
he  had  a  dream,  and  in  this  dream  he  saw  a  figure  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  of  great  beauty  and  unlike  anything  he  had 
ever  before  seen.     To  this  figure  he  attributed  his  victory  over 


■^■3i^ 


Churches  and  Monuments  175 

the  Moors.  So  deeply  impressed  was  the  King  that  he  deter- 
mined to  have  an  image  made  in  the  exact  hkeness  of  the 
virgin  of  his  dream.  He  gave  the  order,  with  minute  explana- 
tions, to  the  foremost  sculptor  of  the  day,  but  was  completely 
dissatisfied  with  the  result.  The  disappointment  and  dismay 
of  the  sculptor  over  his  failure  was  very  great,  and  he  decided 
that  he  was  unworthy  such  a  task.  Just  then  a  wonderful 
statue  was  one  morning  discovered  in  his  studio,  and  so  great 
was  its  mysterious  beauty  that  he  hastened  to  show  it  to  the 
King.  On  seeing  it  San  Fernando  was  overcome  with  joy  : 
"  This,"  he  declared,  "  is  the  Virgin  of  the  Kings  of  Sevilla  "  ! 

Ever  afterwards  this  statue  was  considered  miraculous,  but 
the  heads  of  the  Church  at  the  present  day  cast  considerable 
doubts  on  the  story  and  attribute  the  statue  to  Montafies,  the 
seventeenth-century  Sevillan  sculptor,  who  was  the  greatest 
master  of  polychrome  carving  Spain  has  ever  known. 

The  Giralda  is  the  oldest  and  most  beautiful  building  in 

Sevilla  ;    it  is  also  one  of  the  most  unspoilt  gems  of  Moorish 

work  left  in  Spain.     It  takes  its  name  from 

The  Giralda.  the  bronze  figure  representing  Faith  with 
which  it  is  capped  ;  this  figure  is  thirteen  feet 
high  and  immensely  heavy,  nevertheless  it  turns  this  way 
or  that  with  the  lightest  gust  of  wind  ;  in  Spanish  "  girar  " 
means  "  to  turn,"  hence  the  name  which  has  so  frequently 
afforded  subject  matter  for  the  light-hearted  guasones  of 
Andalusia. 

Originally  the  Giralda  was  the  prayer-tower  of  the  principal 
Moorish  mosque,  and  it  was  erected  as  long  back  as  1184. 
It  is  305  feet  high,  but  so  slender  and  graceful  is  its  outline 
that  its  height  is  not  realised,  even  when  the  ascent  to  the 
belfry  is  made.  And  how  strangely  fascinating  are  those 
great  bells—"  el  Cantor,"  "  la  Gorda,"  "  San  Miguel,"  and 
the  rest.  They  have  all  been  christened  with  holy  oil,  and  it 
is  as  good  Christians  that  they  speak  forth,  with  no  uncertain 
sound,  through  the  still  air  which  hovers  over  the  flat  roofs 
and  green  squares  and  giant  palm  trees  of  the  White  City. 


176  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

They  are  not  like  sweet  English  bells — these  brazen  guardians 
of  "  Faith  "  ;  their  clang  and  clcimour  is  terrific,  and 
their  dissonances  charm  or  horrify  the  ears,  according  to 
individual  temperament,  but  they  make  you  feel  that 
you  are  most  surely  in  Andalusia.  In  the  pulsing  heart 
of  Spain  ! 

The  view  from  the  first  gallery  is  superb.  All  SevUla 
stretches  itself  out  on  the  plain  beneath.  Immediately  below 
is  the  great  Cathedral,  with  its  Court  of  Oranges,  and  close  by 
the  gardens  of  the  Alcazar  and  the  Palacio  Arzobispal.  On 
the  other  side,  close  by  the  banks  of  the  Guadalquiver,  is  the 
Plaza  de  Toros  :  low  and  wide,  and  one  of  the  most  picturesque 
buU  rings  in  Spain.  And,  again,  turning  round  and  looking 
past  the  Alcazar,  the  Parque  and  Las  Delicias — the  fashionable 
drive  of  the  sevillanas — and  the  Prado  de  San  Sebastian. 

Standing  there  in  the  bell  gaUery  of  the  Giralda  one  realises 
at  once  how  very  Moorish  Sevilla  has  remained,  even  to  the 
present  day.  The  masses  of  white  houses,  which  in  reality  are 
not  pure  white  but  are  washed  with  palest  shades  of  pink 
and  blue  and  grey  and  saffron,  seem  thrown  together  in  careless 
confusion,  and  the  winding,  narrow  streets  look  like  single 
dark  threads  outlining  an  Oriental  design. 

On  the  flat  roofs  women  are  watering  their  carnations,  for 
on  these  fiat  roofs,  which  are  so  remarkable  a  feature  of 
Andalusian  cities,  are  grown  most  of  the  brilliant  carnations 
which  are  so  much  worn  by  the  women. 

The  scent  of  orange  blossoms  steals  upwards  on  the  cool 
evening  air  and  for  a  moment  there  is  peace.  But  suddenly 
the  bells  again  begin  to  speak,  and  so  terrific  is  the  clamour 
and  vibration  that  one  unconsciously  moves  swiftly  towards 
the  stone  steps  which  lead  downwards.  And  in  the  easy 
descent  one  gladly  succumbs  to  the  temptation  to  linger  on 
each  little  landing,  or  section — of  which  there  are  thirty-five. 
Each  view  is  more  beautiful  than  that  which  goes  before, 
and  by  the  time  the  ground  is  reached  Sevilla  will  have 
revealed  many  of  her  most  potent  charms. 


Churches  and  Monuments  177 

Before  describing  the  Church  of  the  Caridad — which  contains 

an  extraordinary  collection  of  pictures — I  wish  to  say  a  few 

words,  which  may  be  accepted  as  authentic, 

The  Caridad.     about  the  often-discussed  knight  who,  in  1661, 

built  the  Hospital  of  the  Caridad  at  his  own 

expense.     Of  Don  Miguel  de  Mafiara  much  has  been  said  and 

much  written.     And  of  these  sayings  and  writings  the  greater 

part  are  incorrect,  while  others  are  grossly  libellous. 

It  has  been  asserted  again  and  again  that  the  original  of 
the  famous,  and  infamous,  "  Don  Juan  Tenorio  "  was  the 
founder  of  the  Caridad.  French  writers  especially  have 
enlarged  on  this  idea,  and  not  very  long  ago  a  leading  article 
appeared  in  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  Parisian  papers 
in  which  the  libel  was  repeated  in  detail ;  the  personal  char- 
acter of  Don  Miguel  Manara  being  represented  in  a  decidedly 
unpleasant  light. 

Now  the  bare  facts  of  the  case  are  these.  Don  Miguel 
Maiiara  was  a  mere  child,  little  more  than  a  baby,  when 
Tirso  de  Molino  wrote  his  Burlador  de  Sevilla,  upon  which 
the  legends  of  Don  Juan  are  founded.  He  had  not,  and  could 
not  have  had,  anything  whatever  to  do  with  the  play  or  with 
the  legend.  More  than  this,  the  founder  of  the  Caridad, 
though  not  a  canonized  saint,  was  never,  at  any  time  of  his 
life,  a  sinner — in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the  word.  It 
is  on  record  that  he  was  rather  vain  and  fond  of  gaiety  in 
his  early  youth,  but  nothing  more  than  this.  If  space  per- 
mitted I  could  give  many  authentic  facts  connected  with  the 
life  of  Don  Miguel,  for  I  have  heard  much  about  him  from 
one  of  my  most  valued  friends — Dr.  Jose  Aviles,  who  is 
himself  a  brother  of  the  Caridad  and  a  well-known  litterateur. 
Dr.  Aviles  has  taken  infinite  trouble  to  get  together  an 
absolutely  authentic  account  of  the  life  of  Don  Miguel  Maiiara, 
and  has  published  a  very  interesting  book  on  the  subject. 

In  the  Church  of  the  Caridad  six  of  Murillo's  best  pictures 
are  to  be  found.  The  great  Sevillan  painter  was  an  intimate 
friend  of  Don  Miguel  Maiiara,  and  he  was  also  a  member  of 


178  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

the  Caridad  ;  it  is,  therefore,  easy  to  understand  that  he  gave 
of  his  best  to  this  special  church.  Of  these  six  pictures,  "  La 
Sed  "  ("The  Thirst"),  is  perhaps  the  finest;  it  represents 
Moses  standing  beside  a  rock  from  which  limpid  waters  are 
gushing  while  the  parched  crowd  presses  forward  to  drink,  and 
it  is  a  masterly  composition. 

On  the  right  and  left  of  the  west  entrance  to  the  church 
two  extraordinary  and  terrible  paintings  by  Juan  Vald^s 
Leal — the  Cordobes  painter — are  hung.  The  realism  of  these 
pictures  can  only  be  described  as  ghastly,  but  of  their  power 
there  can  be  no  doubt.  In  "  The  Triumph  of  Death,"  which 
represents  the  dead  bodies  of  a  Bishop  and  of  a  Knight  of 
Calatrava — the  order  to  which  Don  Miguel  Mafiara  originally 
belonged — death  and  decay  are  depicted  in  such  a  gruesome 
manner  that  Murillo's  often-quoted  remark,  "  Leal,  you  make 
me  hold  my  nose,"  is  easily  understood. 

It  is  a  far  cry  from  Sevilla  to  Toledo,  but  as  we  have  now 

finished  with  Andalusia — so  far  as  this  chapter  is  concerned — 

we   must   take   some   of   the   most   notable 

^*T  ^I'^d^'  °^     churches  and  monuments  of  Spain  at  random. 

The  history  of  Toledo  Cathedral,  or  rather  of 

the  ground  upon  which  it  stands,  is  a  strangely  romantic  one. 

So  long  ago  as  the  year  587  it  was  occupied  by  a  Christian 

temple  which  was  dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  by  King 

Reccared,  who  had  renounced  Arianism,  and  who  was  the  first 

Catholic  king  of  Spain.     Then  in  711  and  712,  when  the  last 

of  the  Visigothic  kings   had  been  defeated  and  slain  by  the 

Moors,    the   temple   was   converted   into   a   mosque.      This 

mosque  the  Moors  were  permitted  to  retain  when  Alfonso  VI 

captured  Toledo  in  1085,  but  a  httle  later  the  Christians, 

under  the  guidance  of  Queen  Constance,  took  possession  of 

the  building.     Still  later,  San  Fernando  had  the  old  church 

rased  to  the  ground,  and  in  the  year  1227  the  foundation  stone 

of  the  present  cathedral  was  laid. 

In  general  style  the  Cathedral  of  Toledo  is  early-Gothic, 
but  there  are  many  features  which  recall  the  Renaissance  and 


g 

i 

4 

P 

f. 

w 

/■r^^aiw- 

\%r 

**». 

fevf 

'i 

THE    GIRALDA,    SKMLL. 


Churches  and  Monuments  179 

baroque  periods.  It  is  very  vast  and  grand — ^giving  an 
impression  of  extraordinary  size  and  of  sumptuous  beauty. 
The  stained-glass  windows — of  which  there  are  a  great  number 
— are  of  rare  beauty,  and  this  is  specially  true  of  the  gorgeous 
rose-windows  in  the  transepts. 

The  choir,  which  occupies,  as  in  so  many  Spanish  cathedrals, 
the  centre  of  the  church,  is  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  part 
of  the  building.  Here  is  to  be  found  the  archiepiscopal  throne 
which  has  columns  of  jasper,  each  column  being  crowned 
with  a  capital  of  purest  white  marble.  And  here,  too,  are  the 
choir-stalls  of  Alonso  Berruguete,  who  was  the  pupil  of 
Michael  Angelo.  Berruguete 's  work  is  to  be  found  in  many  of 
the  churches  of  Spain,  and  from  the  specimens  of  his  art, 
which  are  still  in  perfect  preservation,  it  is  interesting  to 
follow  his  wanderings  in  foreign  lands  and  to  guess  at  the 
various  influences  which  possessed  him  from  time  to  time. 
He  was  a  painter,  a  sculptor  and  a  gifted  wood-carver,  and 
his  alabaster  statuettes  in  the  choir  of  the  Cathedral  at 
Toledo  are  exquisite  specimens  of  old-world  art. 

This  Cathedral  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  richest  in  Christen- 
dom ;  the  treasure,  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  Capilla  de 
San  Juan,  is  almost  priceless.  One  of  the  most  remarkable 
items  of  the  "  treasure  "  is  the  wardrobe  of  the  Virgen  del 
Sagrario,  whose  image,  covered  with  jewels,  stands  in  the 
Capilla  de  la  Virgen  del  Sagrario,  within  the  Cathedral. 

Of  the  splendour  of  this  wardrobe  it  is  difficult  to  speak 
without  seeming  exaggeration.  There  is  a  different  robe  for 
every  day  of  the  year,  and  many  of  these  are  weighed  down 
with  jewels  and  gold  and  silver  embroideries.  Another  world- 
famous  treasure  of  Toledo  is  the  silver  Custodia  of  Enrique 
de  Arphe,  which  measures  ten  feet  in  height  and  weighs  378 
pounds.  The  Custodia  is  enriched  with  260  silver-gilt  statu- 
ettes, and  it  enshrines  a  monstrance  which  was  made  from 
the  first  gold  brought  by  Christopher  Columbus  from  America. 
Enrique  de  Arphe  was  the  head  of  a  Spanish  family  of  artists 
who  were  famous  in  the  sixteenth  century  for  their  silver  work. 


180  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

Custodias  by  one  or  the  other  of  the  Arphe  family  are  to  be 
found  in  Sevilla,  Cordova,  Santiago,  Valladohd,  and  many 
other  places  :  a  valuable  work  on  the  principles  of  the  cinque- 
cento  style  was  written  in  1585,  by  a  grandson  of  the  great 
Enrique. 

Toledo  itself  is  a  distinctly  Moorish  city  :  the  narrow, 
tortuous  streets  have  remained  very  much  as  they  were  when 
the  Moors  left  them  ;  all  the  houses  seem  planned  on  the 
same  design,  built  round  an  inner  court,  or  patio,  but  in 
Toledo  these  patios  are  not,  more  or  less,  open  to  public  gaze 
as  in  Sevilla,  All  the  houses  seem  terribly  sombre,  almost 
as  though  their  inhabitants  were  daily  prepared  for  a  siege. 
An  austere  city  and  full  of  savage  splendour  :  not  a  city  in 
which  one  would  choose  to  pass  a  careless  holiday ! 

Although  Segovia  is  within  easy  distance  of  Madrid — two 
hours  and  three  quarters  by  train — ordinary  travellers  rarely 
visit  it.  It  is  the  happy  hunting-ground  of  the  few  who  are 
interested  in  the  genuine  Roman  remains  which  are  to  be 
found  here  and  there  in  Spain.  And  yet  Segovia  is  very  full 
of  interest,  quite  outside  its  splendid  Roman  Aqueduct,  for 
it  is  almost  as  rich  in  antiquities  as  Toledo,  which  city  it 
somewhat  resembles. 

Segovia,  like  Toledo,  is  situated  on  a  rocky  incline,  but 
the  two  modest  streams  which  border  it,  on  either  side,  can 
bear  no  comparison  with  the  majestic  Tagus  ;  and  then 
Segovia  is  as  Romanesque  and  mediaeval  as  Toledo  is  Moorish. 
To  appreciate  the  Romanesque  architecture  of  Segovia  it  is 
very  necessary  to  study  something  of  the  city's  history  ;  to 
understand  that  for  a  very  long  period  it  was  a  sort  of  punch- 
ing-ball for  Moors  and  Christians  alike.  The  Christians  had 
their  strongholds  in  the  Asturias  and  in  Burgos  on  the  northern 
side,  while  the  Moors  were  in  possession  of  Toledo  ;  between 
the  contending  armies  lay  Segovia,  and  sometimes  the  city 
was  in  the  hands  of  one  party,  and  sometimes  of  the  other. 
It  was  natural  that  in  such  circumstances  the  progress  of 
Segovia  was  slow  and  uncertain  ;    in  fact,  she  did  not  burst 


Churches  and  Monuments  181 

into  rich  blossom  until  the  reign  of  Alfonso  the  Wise,  in  the 
thirteenth  century. 

The  Roman  Aqueduct,  attributed  to  Trajan,  is  a  wonder- 
fully picturesque  structure,  and  this  and  the  Walls  of  Tarra- 
gona form  the  most  interesting  Roman  remains  to  be  found 
in  Spain.  The  aqueduct  was  built  without  cement  or  mortar, 
and  the  granite  blocks  remain  firm  in  the  places  even  to  this 
day.  The  portion  of  the  aqueduct  which  spans  the  Valley 
of  the  Eresma  is  2,700  feet  in  length,  and,  in  parts,  very  high  ; 
it  has  119  arches,  and  it  is  fed  by  a  stream  from  the  Sierra  de 
Fuenfria. 

The  Cathedral  at  Segovia  was  opened  in  the  year  1558,  but 

it  was  not  really  finished  for  a  long  time  after  that ;  in  fact, 

it  was  not  until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 

The  Cathedral    century  that  it  was  consecrated  as  a  whole. 
of  begovia.  -^ 

It  was  designed  by  the  architect  Juan  Gil  de 

Ontafion,  who  is  also  responsible  for  the  New  Cathedral  at 

Salamanca,   and   in   style   it  has   been   aptly   described   as 

"  decadent  Gothic." 

The  Cathedral  of  Salamanca,  designed  at  very  much  the 
same  time  as  that  of  Segovia,  is  rather  in  the  Renaissance 
style,  but  in  many  respects  Segovia  is  Gothic  ;  the  cloisters, 
for  example,  are  purely  Gothic,  and  so  are  the  truly  magnificent 
stained-glass  windows. 

A  very  interesting  church  in  Segovia  is  that  of  Vera  Cruz, 
which  was  erected  by  the  Templars  in  the  year  1208  in  imita- 
tion of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem.  This  church,  which 
is  twelve  sided,  has  a  square  tower  of  curious  design,  and 
close  by  it  is  the  monastery  which  was  founded  by  San  Juan 
de  la  Cruz,  the  disciple  of  Santa  Teresa.  Within  the  church, 
upon  the  altar,  stands  the  marble  receptacle  which  holds  the 
body  of  the  dead  saint.  It  seems  strange,  but  it  is  nevertheless 
true,  that  the  influence  of  San  Juan  de  la  Cruz  as  a  writer 
grows  stronger  and  stronger  as  time  passes.  He,  more  surely 
than  any  other  man,  was  entranced  with  the  beauties  of  the 
Songs  of  Solomon,  and  many  of  his  writings  recall  the  rich 

13— (2399) 


182  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

imageries  of  those  mystic  poems.     It  has  been  said,  with 

what  truth  I  know  not,  that  Coventry  Patmore  has,  in  his 

"  Unknown  Eros,"  attempted  to  transfer  the  methods  of  San 

Juan  de  la  Cruz  to  EngUsh  poetry. 

It  would  be  almost  impossible  to  imagine  a  greater  contrast 

than   that   between   Segovia   and   Tarragona.     The   former 

silent,  mysterious,  and  sleeping  ;    the  latter 

Roman  Walls    ^^^    ^f    ^iie    and    of    commercial    activity ! 
of  Tarragona.  -^ 

Beautifully  situated   on  the   borders  of  the 

Mediterranean,    Tarragona    is,    and    always    has    been,    a 

flourishing  centre  of  the  wine  trade  :   in  the  long  ago  days  of 

Martial  and  Pliny  its  wines  were  said  to  rival  in  flavour  the 

famous  Falernian  vintage. 

For  ordinary  travellers  the  Roman  walls  form  the  chief 
object  of  interest  in  this  town,  and  since  they  enclose  the 
highest  part  of  Tarragona,  they  are  exceedingly  imposing. 
On  three  sides  they  are  preserved  almost  without  a  break, 
for  a  distance  of  about  two  miles,  but  it  is  unfortunate  that  their 
height  varies  considerably.  In  some  places  the  walls  are  thirty- 
three  feet  high,  and  in  others  not  more  than  ten  or  twelve  :  this 
great  variation  detracts  not  a  little  from  the  general  effect. 

These  curious  old  walls  were  built  before  the  Second  Punic 
War,  218  b.c,  at  which  period  the  town  was  captured  by 
Scipio,  who  selected  it  as  the  Roman  headquarters  in  Spain, 
in  opposition  to  New  Carthage.  In  26  B.C.  Augustus  made 
Tarragona — or  Tarraco,  as  it  was  then  called — the  capital  of 
the  whole  province,  and  he  erected  many  magnificent  buildings. 
In  later  days,  in  the  Christian  period,  Tarragona  became  the 
See  of  an  Archbishop,  and  at  the  present  day  the  Archbishop  of 
this  city  shares  with  that  of  Toledo  the  title  of  Primate  of  Spain. 

The  Cathedral  at  Tarragona  is  situated  on  the  site  of  the 

old  Roman  temple  which  was  erected  about  the  year  26  B.C., 

in  honour  of "  Divus  Augustus  " — the  Emperor 

of^^Tan-a^  mia'  Augustus  having  greatly  enriched  and  beauti- 
fied the  town  :  this  temple  afterwards  became 
the  head-quarters  of  the  cult  of  the  Goddess  Roma,  and  later 


THI-:    RKTABLO    (OVIEDO) 


Churches  and  Monuments  183 

on  it  was  restored  by  Hadrian.  The  Cathedral  as  it  now  stands 
dates  back  to  the  twelfth  century,  and  it  is  a  brilliant  example 
of  the  late  Romanesque  style. 

In  speaking  of  this  Cathedral  Mr.  Havelock  Ellis,  whose 
works  on  Spain  are  precious  above  rubies,  says  :  "  From  its 
earhest  to  its  latest  period,  Tarragona  Cathedral,  inside  and 
outside,  and  especially  in  the  wonderful  cloisters — by  far  the 
most  interesting  cloisters  in  existence  belonging  to  so  early 
a  date — is  a  revel  of  Catalan  sculpture,  Romanesque  and 
Gothic  ;  sculpture  that  is  solemn  or  beautiful  or  fanciful  or 
trivial,  always  vigorous,  always  the  native  outcome  of  the 
boldly  fertile  and  realistic  Catalan  mind.  There  has  always 
been  an  aptitude  for  sculpture  here  :  in  the  Museo  Arqueo- 
logico  near  the  Cathedral  there  are  delightful  fragments  of 
Roman  and  later  date,  while  some  of  the  latest  pieces  in  the 
Roman  manner,  though  florid,  are  in  a  bold  and  happily 
decorative  style.  Here,  in  the  Cathedral,  the  sculptor's  work, 
though  not  always  happy,  always  shows  a  fine  sculptural 
feeling  ;  sometimes  it  is  exquisite,  sometimes  merely  trivial, 
as  in  the  marble  butterflies  and  spiders  of  the  retablo  ;  some- 
times it  is  broadly  humorous,  as  in  the  scene  in  the  cloisters, 
where  we  see  a  solemn  procession  of  rats  joyfully  bearing  on 
a  bier  a  demurely  supine  cat  who,  a  little  farther,  is  again  seen 
vigorously  alive  and  seizing  one  of  the  unfortunate  bearers 
while  the  rest  are  put  to  flight — '  the  most  insignificant 
sculpture  in  the  Cathedral,  but  perhaps  the  most  interesting,' 
the  sacristan  observes  smilingly." 

From  Tarragona  to  Santiago  Compostela  is   a  very  long 

journey,  right   across  northern   Spain,  from   the   shores   of 

the  Mediterranean  to  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic 

Santiago.        Ocean — or  very  nearly,  for  Santiago  is  not 

quite  near  the  coast.     Formerly  Santiago  was 

the  capital  of  Galicia,  that  wild  and  most  interesting  province 

of  which  I  have  occasion   to   speak  at  some  length  in  my 

chapter  on  Literature. 

Although  Santiago  is  no  longer  the  capital  city  of  its 


184  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

province,  it  remains,  and  must  ever  remain,  profoundly 
interesting,  for  each  year  it  attracts  such  a  vast  number  of 
pilgrims  that  the  Spaniards  always  speak  of  the  "  Milky  Way  " 
as  "El  Camino  de  Santiago  "  (the  road  to  Santiago).  And 
the  object  of  these  numberless  pilgrimages  is  the  resting-place 
of  the  remains  of  "  James — the  son  of  Zebedee,"  the  friend 
and  disciple  of  our  Lord. 

Tradition  says  that  St.  James  himself  preached  the  Gospel 
in  Spain  :  this  was  accepted  as  a  fact  in  the  third  and  fourth 
centuries,  and  further  it  is  recorded  that  the  remains  of  the 
Apostle,  after  he  had  been  beheaded  in  Judea,  were  brought 
to  Spain.  In  a  vision  the  place  in  which  these  remains  had 
been  laid  was  revealed  to  Bishop  Theodomir  of  Iria,  in  the 
ninth  century,  and  it  is  to  this  shrine  that  pilgrims,  numerous 
as  the  stars  of  the  Milky  Way,  journey  year  by  year.  The 
Pilgrimage  to  Santiago  ranks  in  importance  with  those  to 
St.  Peter's  and  to  the  Holy  Land. 

The  Cathedral  at  Santiago  is  a  very  handsome  monument 
which  dates  from  the  year  1100.  The  ground  plan  is  in  the 
exact  shape  of  a  cross,  and  almost  in  the  centre  is  the  choir. 
One  of  the  curiosities  of  the  church  is  a  huge  censer — over  six 
feet  high — which  is  swung  from  side  to  side  by  an  iron  chain. 
The  Capilla  Mayor,  at  the  head  of  the  cross,  stands  immediately 
over  the  grave  of  St.  James,  and  in  a  niche  above  the  altar, 
which  is  made  of  silver,  there  is  a  seated  figure  of  the  saint : 
this  figure  is  richly  adorned  with  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones. 

Some  idea  of  the  importance  of  Santiago,  from  the  pilgrim's 
point  of  view,  may  be  gained  by  realising  that  it  contains 
thirty-six  religious  fraternities,  forty-six  ecclesiastical  edifices, 
288  altars,  and  114  bells. 

There   are   certain   names  which   never  fail  to  surround 

themselves  with  an  atmosphere  of  romance,  and  foremost 

amongst  these  is  that  of  Rodrigo  Diaz  de 

Burgos—The  yivAT  ;  the  Spanish  Campeador  (champion), 
'  The  Cid  !  The  title  Cid  comes  from  the  Arabic 
Sidi  or  Said,  meaning  lord. 


Churches  and  Monuments  185 

At  Burgos  the  site  of  the  house  in  which  this  redoubtable 
champion  was  bom  is  still  to  be  seen  ;  three  stone  monuments, 
erected  on  the  road  to  the  cemetery  and  bearing  the  arms  of 
CastUe,  indicate  the  exact  spot,  and  in  the  chapel  of  the  Casa 
Consistorial,  the  bones  of  The  Cid,  with  those  of  his  wife 
Ximena,  are  preserved. 

It  is  supposed  that  the  famous  Poema  del  Cid  belongs  to 
the  twelfth  century,  since,  roughly  speaking,  Castilian  litera- 
ture dates  back  to  that  period,  but  it  is  believed  that  the 
earlier  cantares  in  honour  of  the  Campeador  were  lost.  The 
"  Poema  "  has  a  double  theme :  in  the  first  place,  it  exploits  the 
brave  and  wonderful  deeds  of  the  Campeador,  and  in  the  second 
it  treats  of  the  marriage  of  his  daughters.  Many  of  the  deeds 
ascribed  to  The  Cid  have  been  strenuously  denied  him,  but  it  is 
very  certain  that  he  was  a  dashing  freebooter,  who  possessed 
the  admiration,  if  not  the  love,  of  the  people  of  his  time.  How 
soul-stirring  is  the  poema  may  be  gathered  from  the  following 
extract,  which  describes  the  charge  of  the  Cid  at  Alcocer — 

With  bucklers  braced  before  their  breasts,  with  lances  pointed  low, 
With  stooping  crests  and  heads  bent  down  above  the  saddle-bow. 
All  firm  of  hand  and  high  of  heart  they  roll  upon  the  foe. 
And  he  that  in  a  good  hour  was  born,  his  clarion  voice  rings  out, 
And  clear  above  the  clang  of  arras  is  heard  his  battle-shout — 
"  Among  them,  gentlemen  !    Strike  home  for  the  love  of  charity  ! 
The  Champion  of  Vivar  is  here — Ruy  Diaz — I  am  he  !  " 
Then  bearing  where  Bermuez  still  maintains  unequal  fight, 
Three  hundred  lances  down  they  came,  their  pennons  flickering  white  : 
Down  go  three  hundred  Moors  to  earth,  a  man  to  every  blow  : 
And,  when  they  wheel,  three  hundred  more,  as  charging  back  they  go. 
It  was  a  sight  to  see  the  lances  rise  and  fall  that  day  : 
The  shivering  shields  and  riven  mail,  to  see  how  thick  they  lay  : 
The  pennons  that  went  in  snow-white  came  out  a  gory  red  : 
The  horses  running  riderless,  the  riders  lying  dead  : 
While  Moors  call  on  Muhammad,  and  "  St.  James  !  "  the  Christians  cry. 

In  the  Capilla  del  Corpus  Christi  of  the  Cathedral  of  Burgos 

the  "  Coffer  of  the  Cid  "  is  preserved.     This  "  Coffer  "  the 

Campeador,  on  a  certain  occasion,  filled  with  sand  and  pledged 

for  600  marks  to  some  Burgos  Jews,  the  latter  supposing 

that  it  contained  gold  !     It  is,  however,  recorded  that  the  Cid 

afterwards,  most  honestly,  redeemed  the  pledge. 


186  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

Barcelona — ^which  has  been  described  as  "  the  brain  and 
the  arm  of  Spain  " — ^will  loom  large  in  the  last  chapter  of  this 

book :    the  chapter  entirely  devoted  to  the 
of  ^Barcelona     Catalans  and  their  province.     But  it  seems 

most  suitable  that  the  Cathedral  should  join 
hands  with  its  fellows.  This  Cathedral,  like  so  many  others 
in  Spain,  is  built  on  a  site  which  was  occupied  by  a  Roman 
temple  and  later  by  a  Moorish  mosque.  The  present  structure 
was  commenced  in  the  year  1298,  but  it  was  not  completed 
for  more  than  a  century  after  that.  It  is  a  rarely  beautiful 
specimen  of  Spanish-Gothic  art,  and  the  dimness  of  its  lighting 
conveys  an  impression  of  vastness  which  it  does  not  in  reality 
possess  :  for  Barcelona  Cathedral  is  not  one  of  the  notably 
large  churches  of  Spain. 

On  entering  by  the  Puerto  Mayor  the  first  impression  given 
is  of  exceeding  width,  for  the  nave  is  of  noble  proportions. 
The  stained  windows  are  comparatively  small,  but  very  beau- 
tiful, and  fine  effects  of  light  and  shade  are  to  be  seen  in  the 
late  afternoon,  just  before  sunset.  A  remarkable  feature  of 
the  church  is  the  Capilla  Mayor,  which  contains  a  late-Gothic 
retablo  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Directly  in  front  of  the 
High  Altar  there  is  a  flight  of  twenty-five  steps  which  lead 
down  to  the  crypt  in  which  is  the  tomb  of  Santa  Eulalia,  the 
patron  saint  of  the  city.  The  alabaster  shrine  is  decorated 
with  reliefs  illustrating  scenes  in  the  life  of  the  saint. 

The  cloisters  of  Barcelona  Cathedral  are  splendid  specimens 
of  Gothic  work  :  they  were  planned  and  commenced  in  1388 
by  Roque,  but  they  were  not  finished  until  late  in  the  year  1448. 
The  inner  court  of  these  cloisters  is  beautifully  planted  with 
palms  and  medlar  trees. 

I  have  kept  to  the  last  that  which  is,  I  think,  best,  though 
it  may  not  be  correct  to  apply  the  word  "  best  "  to  a  subject 

which    is    unique.     You    cannot    say    that 
The  Montserrat.  Montserrat  is  better  than   any  other  place, 

because  there  is  nothing  in  the  least  like  it. 
Nevertheless,  I  repeat — Ihave  kept  to  the  last  that  which  is  best ! 


Churches  and  Monuments  187 

The  Montserrat — the  sacred  mountain  of  the  Catalans — is 
a  rugged,  majestic,  enormous  mass  of  rock.  It  is  4,070  feet 
high,  and  its  formation  resembles  a  huge  castle,  surrounded 
by  fortifications.  The  sombre  slopes  are  terraced  by  alternate 
bands  of  slate  sandstone,  and  by  calcareous  conglomerate, 
and  a  great  fissure  intersects  the  ridge  on  the  south-west  side. 

It  is  absolutely  awe-inspiring — this  stupendous  mass  of 
rugged  rock  ;  on  the  south-east  it  is  inaccessible,  but  on  the 
north-east  there  is  a  narrow  railroad,  made  by  utilizing  the 
projecting  terraces.  And  it  is  by  means  of  this  curious  little 
mountain  railway  that  one  reaches  the  world-famous 
monastery  which  is  the  shrine  of  "La  Santa  Imagen  " — the 
wooden  image  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  carved  by  St.  Luke  and  brought  to  Spain  by  St. 
Peter. 

Year  in  and  year  out  a  mighty  army  of  pilgrims  toil  up  the 
steeps  of  the  Montserrat  to  present  their  offerings  at  the 
shrine  of  "  La  Santa  Imagen,"  In  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
centuries  it  is  stated  that  the  number  of  these  pilgrims  never 
feU  short  yearly  of  half  a-million.  In  the  present  day  they 
are  not  so  numerous  as  that,  but  60,000  or  70,000  persons  visit 
the  monastery  each  year. 

In  the  old  days  the  Monastery  of  The  Montserrat  was  a 
centre  of  enlightenment  and  learning  ;  the  monks  were  great 
musicians,  and  many  of  them  were  skilled  in  the  painter's  and 
sculptor's  arts.  Even  at  the  present  day  the  fine  arts  are 
carefully  studied  in  the  mountain  home  of  "La  Santa 
Imagen  "  :  the  monks  have  there  a  school  of  ecclesiastical 
music,  the  members  of  which  sing,  and  very  beautifully,  the 
Salve  at  the  hour  of  Oracion. 

And  it  is  impossible  to  leave  the  subject  of  the  "  Serrated 
Mountain  "  without  recalling  the  vigil  of  one  notable  pilgrim 
who,  early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  felt  suddenly  inspired  to 
dedicate  his  life  to  the  service  of  Christ. 

Ignatius  of  Loyola  had  been  a  brave  soldier,  and  it  was 
in  the  defence  of  Pampeluna,  against  the  allied  armies  of  the 


188  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

French  and  Navarese,  that  he  sustained  such  serious  injuries 
that  his  hfe  was  despaired  of.  During  his  convalescence  he 
had  an  opportunity  of  reading  a  translation  of  Ludolf  of 
Saxony's  "  Life  of  Christ,"  and  so  greatly  was  he  impressed 
with  what  he  read  that  he  determined  to  renounce  the  things 
of  the  world. 

When  he  was  able  to  walk,  though  still  lame,  he  started  on 
a  lonely  pilgrimage  to  the  Monastery  on  The  Montserrat,  and 
after  three  days  of  deep  contrition  and  submission,  he  stripped 
himself  of  his  handsome  garments — for  he  was  the  son  of  a 
nobleman  and  rich — and  clothed  himself  in  a  rough  dress  of 
sackcloth. 

In  this  attire  he  commenced  his  Vigil  at  the  shrine  of  "  La 
Santa  Imagen,"  and  after  a  long  night  of  humble  self-abase- 
ment he,  in  the  early  dawn,  hung  up  his  rapier  and  dagger, 
which  were  the  badges  of  a  gentleman  in  those  days. 

In  the  years  that  followed  Ignatius  of  Loyola  served  his 
Lord  and  Master  with  his  whole  heart  and  strength,  but  always 
in  the  deepest  humility. 

So  unworthy  did  he  think  himself  to  fill  any  important  post 
that  it  was  not  until  fifteen  years  after  his  Vigil  that  he  con- 
sented to  become — once  more  I  quote  from  Mr.  Ellis — "  The 
first  general  of  the  best-organised  and  most  famous  army 
that  has  ever  fought  in  the  service  of  the  Church." 


CHAPTER   X 

COMMERCE    AND    INDUSTRIES 

A  STUDY  of  the  sub-soil  of  Spain  reveals  wonders.     In  minerals 

the  Peninsula  is  richer  than  any  other  country  of  Europe. 

And  these  minerals  are  scattered  about  in  a 

Minerals.        curious  way.     Huelva,  in  the  extreme  south, 

is     the      richest     spot,     producing      yearly 

minerals  to  the  value  of  1 19  millions  of  pesetas.     And  next  in 

importance  comes  Vizcaya,  in  the  extreme  north,  with  its 

yearly  output  of  minerals  to  the  value  of  75  millions.     And 

after  these  two  fabulously  rich  points  the  figures  jump  up  and 

down  the  map  ;    Oviedo,  in  the  north,  produces  62  millions ; 

Murcia,  in  the  south,  59  milhons  ;  Cordova  56,  and  Jaen  47. 

And  it   remains   that   the    indolent,    pleasure-loving   south 

possesses  a  far  richer  sub-soil  than  the  more  industrious  north. 

More  than  twenty  different  minerals  are  to  be  found  in  the 
mines  of  Spain.  Amongst  others,  gold,  silver,  copper,  tin, 
zinc,  quicksilver,  salt,  coal,  etc.,  etc. 

I  shall  speak  a  little  later  on  of  the  more  important  of  these 
mines,  but  before  going  into  particulars  it  will,  I  think,  be 
interesting  to  take  a  general  view  of  the  country,  from  the 
commercial  point  of  view. 

Spain  has  an  unrivalled  sea-board  and  is  possessed  of 
immense  tracts  of  land,  on  which  almost  anything  and 
everything  could  be  grown  and  in  abundance,  if  the  Spaniards 
of  to-day  understood  the  secrets  of  agriculture  as  did  the 
Moors  of  yesterday. 

The  question  of  irrigation  is  a  vital  one  in  many  parts  of 

Spain,  and  it  ought  not  to  present  insuper- 

Irrigation.       able  difficulties,  since  it  is  certain  that  what 

was  accomplished  in  the  past  might,  in  certain 

circumstances,  be  accomplished  in  the  present  and  in    the 


190  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

future.  The  Moors  made  fertile  the  great  plains  of  Estre- 
madura  and  Castile  through  their  perfect  knowledge  of  the 
mysteries  of  irrigation,  and  though  Spain  is  not  rich  in 
navigable  rivers,  very  much  could  be  done  in  the  present 
day  under  intelligent  direction,  and  given  sufficient 
capital. 

On  this  vexed  subject  of  irrigation  the  author  of  "  Spanish 
Life  in  Town  and  Country  " — published  a  few  years  ago — 
has  spoken  to  the  point :  "  One  would  expect  a  country  with 
such  a  climate,  or  rather  so  many  climates,  as  Spain,  to  make 
a  great  feature  of  agriculture.  It  can  at  once  produce  wheat 
of  the  very  finest  quality,  wine,  oil,  rice,  sugar,  and  every  kind 
of  fruit  and  vegetable  that  is  knoNvn  :  and  it  ought  to  be  able 
to  support  a  large  agricultural  population  in  comfort,  and 
export  largely.  Taking  into  account,  also,  the  rich  mineral 
wealth,  which  should  make  her  independent  of  imports  of  this 
nature,  it  is  sad  to  see  that  in  past  years,  even  so  late  as  1882, 
wheat  and  flour,  coal  and  coke,  iron  and  tools  figure  amongst 
her  imports — the  two  first  in  very  large  proportions.  Although 
the  vast  plains  of  Estremadura  produce  the  finest  wheat 
known  to  commerce,  the  quantity,  owing  to  the  want  of 
water,  is  so  small  in  relation  to  the  acreage  under  cultivation, 
that  it  does  not  suffice  for  home  consumption,  except  in  very 
favourable  years  ;  while  the  utilization  of  the  magnificent 
rivers,  which  now  roll  their  waters  uselessly  to  the  sea,  would 
make  the  land  what  it  once  was  when  the  thrifty  Moors  held 
it — a  thickly  populated  and  flourishing  grain-producing 
district." 

And  in  another  part  of  the  same  book  this  author  says : 
"  As  an  example  of  what  irrigation  means  in  the  sunlit  fields 
of  Spain,  an  acre  of  irrigable  land  in  Valencia  or  Murcia  sells 
for  prices  varying  from  £150  to  £400,  according  to  its  quality 
or  its  situation,  while  land  not  irrigable  only  fetches  sums 
varying  from  £1  to  £20.  In  Castile,  land  would  not  in  any 
case  fetch  so  high  a  price  as  that  which  has  been  under  irrigated 
cultivation  for  centuries  past ;    but  in  any  district  the  value 


Commerce  and  Industries  191 

of  dry  land  is  never  more  than  a  twelfth  of  what  it  is  when 
irrigable." 

As  an  example  of  what  can  be  done  in  this  connection,  and 
in  unfavourable  circumstances,  we  have  only  to  look  at  many 
parts  of  Cataluiia. 

The  Catalans  have  overcome,  in  an  extraordinary  way,  the 
difficulties  presented  by  the  want  of  irrigation  and  by  artificial 
watering — on  a  gigantic  scale — they  are  able  to  produce  rich 
crops  from  most  unpromising  soil. 

There  is  a  Spanish  proverb,  which  contains  more  than  a 
grain  of  truth,  to  this  effect :  "  Los  Catalanes  de  las  piedras 
sacan  panes  "  ("  The  Catalans  produce  bread  from  stones  !  "). 

With  regard  to  commercial  prosperity  it  seems  as  though 
Spain  were  just  now  entering  upon  a  golden  era.  Those  who 
know  and  love  the  country  feel  that  from  the  ashes  of  a  great 
seeming  disaster  much  good  may  arise. 

Spain  has  lost  her  colonies.  But  then  the  Spaniards  have 
never  been  successful  as  a  colonizing  people.  In  times  past 
they  grossly  mismanaged  their  home  affairs,  but  this  mis- 
management paled  before  the  futility  and  injustice  of  the 
policy  which  they  brought  to  bear  on  their  dependencies 
outside  the  mother-country.  Now  all  that  is  at  an  end, 
and  the  opportunity  has  come  to  "  look  within." 

Within  the  bounds  of  their  own  beautiful  country  the 
Spaniards  possess  unlimited  possibilities,  and  it  only  remains 
for  them  to  realise  these — in  the  best  possible  way.  It  will 
take  time — that  is  certain  ;  but  things  are  beginning  to  shape 
weU,  and  everything  points  to  the  certainty  that  the  present 
King  is  deserving  of  the  title,  "  Alfonso  the  Wise."  He  is  in 
many  respects  imbued  with  English  ideas — while  remaining 
at  heart  a  Spaniard  of  the  Spaniards  —and  it  is  with  England 
that  Spain  of  the  immediate  future  will  enter  into  close 
commercial  relationship. 

In  considering  Spain  from  the  point  of  view  of  Commerce 
and  Industries  the  sub-soil  claims  first  attention. 

The  quicksilver  mines  of  Almaden  are  the  most  important 


192  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

in  the  world.  The  richness  of  the  mineral  deposit  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  these  mines  have  been  worked 
for  about  2,500  years,  and  the  income 
"^^^ivr^'^^^f^^"  ^^'"^^^^  from  them  has  always  been  an  im- 
Almaden.  portant  factor  in  the  revenues  of  the  Spanish 
Crown.  Cinnabar — or  red  sulphuret  of  mercury 
— was  greatly  valued  by  the  ancient  Greeks,  and  that  the 
mines  of  Almaden  were  of  great  importance  so  long  back 
as  300  B.C.  is  assured  by  contemporary  Greek  writers,  who 
frequently  mention  the  cinnabar  mines  of  Sisapo,  after- 
wards called  by  the  Arabs  Hins-Almudhin,  from  whence  is 
derived  the  modern  name  Almaden. 

According  to  Pliny,  the  vermiUion  used  by  the  Roman  ladies 
was  brought  from  Almaden,  and  it  was  probably  the  Romans 
who  discovered  the  means  of  extracting  mercury  from 
cinnabar.  The  terribly  poisonous  attributes  of  mercury  were 
at  once  noticed,  and  the  workmen  employed  in  the  mines  were 
obliged  to  cover  their  faces  with  a  sort  of  mask. 

Unhappily,  with  all  our  modem  inventions,  nothing  has 
yet  been  discovered  which  can  protect  the  workers  in  quick- 
silver mines  from  the  disastrous  effects  of  the  poisoned  gases, 
which  sooner  or  later  invade  the  whole  system. 

A  visit  to  Almaden  is  on  this  account  necessarily  of  a  depress- 
ing nature,  as  one  cannot  help  seeing  that  the  miners  lead  a 
wretched  existence,  frequently  terminating  in  an  incurable 
disease. 

The  contrast  between  these  mines  and  those  in  other  parts 
of  Spain,  notably  in  Rio  Tinto,  is  very  striking.  As  I  have  said 
elsewhere  in  this  chapter,  the  miners  of  Rio  Tinto  work  under 
most  favourable  conditions  ;  they  are  well  paid,  well  housed, 
and  well  looked  after  ;  whereas  in  Almaden,  where  the  men 
work  in  an  atmosphere  permeated  with  poisonous  gases,  they 
receive  wages  which  are  totally  inadequate  to  the  difficulty 
of  their  task  and  the  danger  incurred. 

Numerous  proposals  have  been  made  for  the  amelioration 
of  the  existing  state  of  affairs,  but  the  greatest  difficulty  hes 


Commerce  and  Industries  193 

in  the  fact  that  for  the  past  sixty  or  seventy  years  the  Govern- 
ment has  found  it  necessary  to  raise  large  loans  on  the  mines 
in  order  to  meet  pressing  financial  difficulties. 

In  1840  a  loan  was  obtained  from  the  house  of  Rothschild, 
which  was  renewed  in  1870  and  again  in  1900.  By  these 
contracts  the  Rothschilds  have  entire  control  of  the  mercury 
produced  by  the  mines,  with  the  exception  of  a  very  small 
quantity  left  at  the  disposition  of  the  Government. 

In  1870  the  loan  obtained  amounted  to  £1,696,761  sterling, 
at  8%  interest :  the  Government  undertaking  to  repay  the 
loan  in  thirty  yearly  sums  of  ;f  150,000,  capital  and  interest : 
;^4,500,000  in  all,  the  mines  and  their  productions  being 
mortgaged  for  the  thirty  years. 

Sefior  Moret,  who  was  at  that  time  Deputy  for  the  District, 
raised  a  determined  protest  in  the  Cortes  against  the  contract : 
representing  that  it  was  extremely  prejudicial,  both  to  the 
mines  and  to  Spanish  commerce,  to  put  the  entire  output  of 
the  mineral  into  the  hands  of  a  foreign  house,  which  was 
to  control  it  exclusively.  His  protest,  however,  passed 
unheeded,  and  in  1900  the  contract  was  renewed  for  ten 
years. 

The  exact  amount  of  mercury  obtained  yearly  is  a  little 
difficult  to  determine,  since  the  quantity  varies  considerably  ; 
its  value  is  also  subject  to  fluctuations.  The  mineral  after 
distillation  is  put  into  flasks,  each  containing  over  34  kilo- 
grams of  mercury.  The  value  of  each  flask  is  about  250 
pesetas,  and,  roughly  speaking,  about  36,000  flasks  are 
obtained  yearly.  In  1900,  seven  and  a  half  million  pesetas' 
worth  of  mercury  was  produced  by  the  mines  ;  in  some 
years  the  quantity  rises  to  nine  millions. 

The  mines  of  Almaden  consist  of  twelve  stages,  or  galleries. 
The  lowest  stage  is  1,150  feet  below  the  surface. 

The  mercury  is  found  embedded  in  slate  and  quartz,  either 
as  red  cinnabar  or  as  virgin  ore  :  the  work  of  the  miners, 
therefore,  consists  of  boring  :  each  man  being  furnished  with 
a  bore  and  a  hammer. 


194  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

The  working  day  at  Almaden  is  divided  into  four  quarters 

of  six  liours  each,  beginning  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

For  eighteen  hours  the  men  work,  in  relays  : 

^  M'n"  ^^^y   ^^"^   relieved   every   six   hours.     From 

twelve  o'clock  at  night  until  six  o'clock  in 

the  morning  the  mines  are  left  clear  for  ventilation.     The 

greatest  evil  of  the  present  system  of  management  is  that 

the  miners  have  no  fixed  salary  :  their  wages  being  determined 

by  the  amount  of  mineral  they  produce.     For  the  ordinary 

miner  the  average  amount  earned  scarcely  ever  exceeds  one 

peseta  fifty  centimes — 1.50 — a  day,  and  frequently  it  does 

not  come  to  even  as  much  as  this  !     This  is  a  lamentably 

insufficient   recompense    for   a   day's   work   in   the   terrible 

atmosphere  of  a  quicksilver  mine. 

The  average  miner,  after  ten  or  fifteen  years'  work,  is  a 
physical  wreck  and  hopelessly  diseased.  The  mercury 
completely  calcines  all  the  bones  in  the  system  :  the  teeth 
decay :  the  eyes  become  bloodshot.  In  fact,  the  miner 
develops  into  a  living  flask  of  mercury,  and  when  he  finally 
receives  from  the  Direction  a  pension  of  75  centimes  a  day, 
he  is  not  infrequently  reduced  to  begging  in  the  streets,  should 
this  sum  not  suffice  for  the  support  of  an  entire  family  ! 

The  mining  territory  of  Almaden  is  enclosed  in  a  circle  of 
about  25  kilometres  radius,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  the 
principal  shaft,  San  Teodoro.  There  are  two  other  shafts, 
called  San  Miguel  and  San  Aquilino. 

When  the  mineral  is  brought  up  from  the  mine  it  is  conveyed 
in  waggons  running  on  rails  to  the  distilling  furnaces,  where 
the  blocks  of  quartz  are  classified,  according  to  size,  and  are 
subjected  to  the  various  operations  necessary  for  obtaining 
the  mercury. 

The  metallurgic  treatment  consists  in  burning  the  mineral 
in  order  to  extract  the  cinnabar,  or  sulphuret  of  mercury. 
There  are  at  present  three  different  types  of  furnaces  in  use  : 
the  first  was  installed  in  1646,  the  second  in  1887,  and  the 
third,  which  works  continuously,  was  erected  quite  recently. 


Commerce  and  Industries  195 

In  the  opinion  of  many  engineers  the  later  furnaces  offer 
no  marked  improvement  on  the  older  system. 

When  the  mineral  has  been  calcined  and  subjected  to 
various  processes  it  emerges  in  a  perfectly  liquid  state — a 
river  of  mercury  which  is  then  encased  in  flasks  and 
sent  to  London.  The  work  of  the  stokers  is  the  hardest 
of  aU. 

Some  ameUoration  has  recently  been  made  in  the  conditions 
under  which  these  men  work  as  well  as  in  their  pay,  for  it 
was  found  that  no  one  could  be  induced  to  work  for  hours  in 
the  fearful  atmosphere  of  heated  mercury  for  the  purely 
nominal  remuneration  which  was  previously  offered  to  the 
young  men  and  boys  in  charge  of  the  furnaces. 

The  copper  mines  of  Rio  Tinto  present  a  very  great  contrast 
to  the  quicksilver  mines  of  Almaden.  At  Rio  Tinto  everything 
is  arranged  and  managed  in  the  best  possible 
"^M"  ^°^^f^  way,  especially  with  regard  to  the  health 
Rio  Tinto.  ^^'^  welfare  of  the  workmen,  who  are,  as  a 
rule,  well  paid  and  carefully  looked  after. 
The  mines  of  Rio  Tinto  are,  perhaps,  the  most  important 
copper  mines  in  the  world.  They  cover  an  enormous  space 
— something  like  eight  or  nine  square  miles — and  there 
are  four  separate  villages  for  the  miners,  one  of  which 
is  inhabited  exclusively  by  Englishmen.  Of  the  popula- 
tion of  about  12,000  persons  10,000  are  engaged  in  the 
mines,  in  one  capacity  or  another,  and  there  are  sixty 
miles  of  railways  connected  with  the  mines  alone  :  above 
ground  and  below.  In  days  of  old  the  mines  of  Rio  Tinto 
were  worked  by  the  Iberians,  Phoenicians  and  Carthaginians, 
and  later  on  by  the  Romans,  but  the  supply  of  copper 
seems  to  be  absolutely  inexhaustible. 

Some  idea  of  the  vast  extent  of  ground  occupied  by  these 
mines  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  from  one  end  of 
the  workings  to  the  other  is  a  distance  of  nearly  eight  miles — 
by  rail ! 

In  the  eighteenth  century,  when  these  mines  were  leased 


196  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

to  a  Swedish  Company  they  were  very  Uttle  exploited,  but 
they  were  acquired  by  a  syndicate  of  London  and  Bremen 
capitaUsts  in  1872,  and  ever  since  then  they  have  occupied 
a  position  of  very  great  importance.  They  were  acquired 
from  the  Spanish  Government  at  a  cost  of  something  like 
;f4,000,000. 

Since  the  Rio  Tinto  Mines  are  in  the  hands  of  foreign 
capitalists  they  cannot  be  described  as  a  Spanish  industry, 
but  then  they  give  employment  to  very  many  Spaniards, 
and  for  this  reason  I  wish  to  speak  of  the  really  excellent  way 
in  which  the  miners  are  treated  and  the  fair  manner  in  which 
they — as  a  rule — are  paid.  In  comparison  with  Almaden, 
Rio  Tinto  seems  quite  a  little  paradise. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  perfect  understanding 
between  employers  and  employees  than  at  the  mines  of 
Rio  Tinto.  The  amount  of  actual  work  got  through  in  each 
twenty-four  hours  is  astonishing,  for  in  these  mines  the  work 
is  carried  on  without  interval  day  and  night.  The  labour  is 
so  well  organised  that  no  man  has  more  than  an  eight  hours' 
day  :  to  gain  this  most  desirable  end  it  has  been  necessary  to 
employ  an  immense  number  of  workmen. 

The  wages  paid  are  in  proportion  to  the  work  done,  and 
they  are,  comparatively,  far  higher  than  those  paid  at  other 
mining  centres.  From  five  to  six  pesetas  a  day  is  the  average 
wage  of  the  miners,  and  in  case  of  illness  the  men  are  thoroughly 
well  looked  after  in  hospital,  and  while  there  they  receive  the 
half  of  their  ordinary  day's  wages. 

In  case  of  serious  accidents  the  company  pays  a  suitable 
indemnity,  and  the  widows  of  men  killed  in  the  service 
are  cared  for  and  placed  in  a  position  to  earn  their  living 
comfortably.  The  children  of  the  miners  are  given  facilities 
for  an  excellent  education  :  there  are  at  Rio  Tinto  eight 
schools,  for  boys,  girls  and  infants,  and  at  these  schools  the 
education  given  is  in  every  respect  admirable.  After  thirty 
years'  service  the  workmen  have  a  right  to  demand  a 
pension. 


Commerce  and  Industries  197 

With  regard  to  the  ordinary  economic  Hfe  of  the  miners, 
the  problem  has  been  solved  in  a  manner  which  has  proved 
very  advantageous  to  the  population  in  general.  Large 
stores  are  maintained  by  the  mine  owners  and  at  these  stores 
the  prices  are  fixed,  monthly,  by  a  committee  composed  of 
ten  or  twelve  workmen,  elected  by  their  companions. 

There  are,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  mines,  no  private 
shops,  or  practically  none,  and  thus  the  whole  business  of 
providing  for  the  employees  of  the  mines  is  in  the  hands  of 
persons  whose  only  object  is  to  give  the  best  value  at  the 
most  reasonable  prices.  In  these  stores  everything  necessary 
for  a  comfortable  life  is  sold  at  cost  price  :  not  only  food, 
but  also  articles  of  clothing,  etc.  It  is  a  notable  fact  that  no 
alcoholic  beverages  are  sold  in  the  Rio  Tinto  Stores ! 

Prominent  Spaniards,  who  are  interested  in  the  welfare  and 
progress  of  their  country,  have  again  and  again  pointed  out 
that  the  general  management  of  the  Rio  Tinto  mines  is  a 
great  object  lesson  for  Spain,  for  it  proves  that  vast  wealth 
can  be  accumulated  without  injury  to  the  more  humble 
workers  :  that,  on  the  contrary,  they  can  be  sustained  and 
cared  for,  and  that  their  lives  may  be  made  happy  and  pros- 
perous. The  Rio  Tinto  Mining  Company  is  not  a  Spanish 
one,  but  then  a  vast  majority  of  the  workers  in  the  mines 
are  Spanish  ! 

At  Bilbao  there  are  extensive  deposits  of  iron  ore,  and  the 

town  is  one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  progressive  in  Spain. 

So  far  back  as  the  Middle  Ages  Bilbao  was 

Other  Mimng    j^Q^-g^^  ^qj-  j^g  ^.qj^  q^^^  steel  manufactures, 
Industries.  .  i  •   n       r  i 

but  the  u"onworks — chiefly  for  the  manu- 
facture of  rails — were  not  systematically  exploited  until  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

At  Linares,  near  the  foot  of  the  Sierra  de  Jaen,  there  are 
very  important  mines  which  furnish  one-fourth  of  the  lead 
needful  for  the  world  at  large.  Linares  is  situated  in  the 
midst  of  a  wild  and  picturesque  country  and  well  repays  a  visit. 

Spain  has  always  been  remarkable  for  its  ceramic  arts. 

14— (2399 


198  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

The  azuelejos — or  tiles — in  the  Alcazar  at  Sevilla  and  in  the 

Alhambra  and  in  so  many  other  world-famous  places,  are  too 

well  known  to  require  any  introduction.     It 

The  Ceramic    ^^^  ^^^   Moors   who  introduced   the   art   of 

Art  01  bpain.  o      • 

ceramics     mto     Spam.        In    the     eleventh 

century  the  Spanish  Arabs  fabricated  enamelled  pottery  which 
displayed  extraordinary  metallic  reflections.  The  range  of 
colours  at  that  period  was  rather  limited,  for  almost  all  the 
pottery  was  made  in  shades  of  blue,  gold,  and  red  on  a  surface 
of  pearl,  yellow,  or  dull  red. 

The  origin  of  metallic  reflection  applied  to  ceramics  has 
been  the  subject  of  much  discussion.  Malaga  and  SevQla 
have  both  laid  claim  to  have  been  the  home  of  this  important 
invention,  but  experts  have  decided  that  the  honour  rightly 
belongs  to  Triana,  which  has  been  from  time  immemorial  the 
potters'  suburb  of  Sevilla. 

In  the  Alcazar  at  Sevilla  this  metallic  reflection  can  be 
studied  closely,  for  the  tiles  in  this  most  exquisite  building 
are  very  perfect  specimens  of  the  potter's  art.  Looked  at 
in  certain  hghts  delicate  iris  tints  are  to  be  seen,  while  from 
another  point  of  view  the  same  tiles  reflect  gleams  of  peacock 
green  and  pale  gold. 

As  far  back  as  the  twelfth  century  we  find  fine  examples 
of  glazed  earthenware  applied  to  architectural  decorations. 
In  the  sixteenth  century  the  ceramic  art  reached  its  highest 
development,  and  the  decorations  of  the  Casa  de  Pilatos  at 
Sevilla  belong  to  this  period. 

In  the  eighteenth  century  began  the  decadence  of  this 
branch  of  industrial  art.  The  craftsmen  seemed  then  to  have 
lost  touch  with  the  discoveries  and  achievements  of  their 
predecessors,  and  at  this  period  the  secret  of  the  production 
of  the  wonderful  metallic  reflections  completely  disappeared. 
Since  that  day  ceaseless  efforts  have  been  made  by  master- 
potters  to  re-discover  the  lost  secret,  but  these  efforts  were 
not  crowned  with  success  until  Don  Jos6  Mensaque  of  Sevilla 
took  the  matter  seriously  in  hand. 


Commerce  and  Industries  199 

After  continued  experiments  in  his  laboratories  and  work- 
shops Don  Jose  actually  revived  the  lost  art :  not  alone  did 
he  re-discover  the  art  of  producing  metallic  reflections,  but 
he  also  discovered  how  to  produce  the  wonderful  tones  of 
green  and  blue  which  had  made  the  Arab  enamels  so  precious. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  say  that,  for  hot  climates, 
tiled  walls  are  ideal.  The  Moors — who  were  always  practical, 
even  in  their  arts — fuUy  realised  this  fact,  and  in  aU  the  most 
notable  Moorish  monuments  of  Andalusia  the  azulejo  plays 
a  very  important  role. 

In  the  ceramic  workshops  of  Triana  some  rarely  lovely 
work  is  done  on  a  smooth  surface  of  ordinary  clay.  This 
process  is  also  one  of  Don  Jose  Mensaque's  discoveries,  and 
he  is  exploiting  it  in  a  very  important  direction.  Under  his 
direction  large  and  beautiful  paintings  can  be  copied  in  tiles, 
as,  for  example,  the  Congreso  de  los  Dioses,  a  picture  composed 
of  twenty-one  large  tiles,  which  was  executed  in  Triana  for 
Don  Eduardo  Ibarra. 

The   excellence  of  Spanish  wines — especially  of  Spanish 

sherry — has  been  admitted  ever  since  the  days  of  the  Caesars. 

It  is  not  actually  known  at  what  date  the 

T    d      fS  ^'n    ^^^^  ^^  Jerez  first  became  known  in  England, 

but  it  was  probably  in  the  thirteenth  century, 

for  there  are  records  of  trade  in  white  wines  between  England 

and  Spain  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries.     It  was, 

however,  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  that  sherry  became  really 

popular  with  the  English. 

Jerez  was  originally  a  Roman  colony,  and  it  afterwards 
became  a  fortified  city,  which  was  held  for  centuries  by  the 
Moors.  It  was  under  the  waUs  of  Jerez  that  one  of  the  longest 
battles  in  history  was  fought — the  battle  between  the  Moors, 
under  "  Tarik,"  and  the  Goths  under  "  Don  Rodrigo,"  which 
ended  in  the  defeat  of  the  last  Visigothie  king  and  in  the 
occupation  of  Spain  by  the  Moors  :  this  was  in  the  year  711. 
In  defining  sherry  it  is  quite  fair  to  describe  it  as  a  wine 
which  is  peculiar  to  Spain  and  essentially  Spanish  :   there  is 


200  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

no  genuine  wine  like  it  produced  in  other  countries,  and  this 
because  there  is  no  soil  or  similarly  favoured  environment, 
other  than  that  in  the  province  of  Andalusia,  which  can 
produce  wine  of  the  peculiar  character  of  sherry. 

Were  the  vines  of  Jerez  transplanted  to  other  countries 
they  would  produce  grapes  which  would  fail  to  yield  the 
same  character  of  wine.  And  then  it  must  be  realised  that 
the  great  process  of  fermentation  is  profoundly  modified  by 
external  conditions.  Soil,  sun,  and  air  of  Jerez  produce 
sherry  and  sherry  alone. 

Jerez — the  land  of  the  grape  and  the  home  of  sherry — 

reminds  one  of  a  magnificent  white  cat :   a  prize  animal  with 

long  and  silky  fur  which  ever  basks  and  purrs 

Jerez.  in    a   glory   of   sunshine  !     For   Jerez-de-la- 

Frontera  is  the  whitest  of  white  cities,  and 

its  opulence  and  contentment  cannot  be  mistaken  :    it  is 

obviously  peopled  by  those  who  are  successful  and  wealthy. 

Unhke  many  other  of  the  southern  cities  of  Spain,  Jerez — 
or  Xeres — has  almost  always  enjoyed  a  successful  career. 
It  has  had  its  periods  of  battle  and  bloodshed,  but  these 
have  never  been  very  prolonged,  and  since  the  days  of  the 
"  Catholic  Kings  "  all  has  gone  well  with  it. 

In  point  of  wealth  Jerez  is  the  third  city  in  Spain,  and  it 
has  a  population  of  52,000  inhabitants.  When  staying  at 
Sevilla  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  visit  Sherry-land,  for  it  is  only 
about  three  hours  by  train.  There  are  several  points  of 
interest  in  the  town,  notably  the  Church  of  San  Miguel,  a 
Gothic  building  which  dates  from  the  fifteenth  century,  but 
visitors  find  their  attention  chiefly  centred  on  the  bodegas  in 
which  the  famous  sherry  is  stored.  And  to  these  bodegas 
there  seems  no  end  :  the  town  is  filled  with  them  and  with 
various  buildings  connected  with  them. 

The  bodega  has  been  fitly  described  as  a  "  sherr}'  nursery." 
It  is  a  very  large  overground  cellar  in  which  hundreds,  and 
often  thousands,  of  butts  of  wine  are  going  through  various 
stages  of  development.     Sherry  of  all  ages  and  values.     For 


Commerce  and  Industries  201 

example,  in  the  bodegas  of  Don  Pedro  Domecq — the  present 
head  of  the  oldest  established  firm  in  Jerez — there  are  wines 
forty,  sixty,  one  hundred,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
old.  Amongst  these  is  the  sherry  which  has  been  named 
"  Napoleon,"  because  it  was  offered  to  the  Emperor  in  the 
year  1809,  and  was  then  said  to  be  "  very  old."  And  not 
far  from  the  "  Napoleon  "  we  find  the  "  George  IV,"  which 
was  the  favourite  sherry  of  that  king  ! 

The  interior  of  a  bodega  is  kept  as  cool  as  possible,  and  by 
reason  of  the  great  thickness  of  the  walls  an  even  temperature 
is  obtained  all  the  year  round.  It  is  in  the  bodegas  that  the 
various  wines  are  tasted  and  judged,  and  it  will  be  well  for 
chance  visitors  to  remember  that  there  is  something  very  subtle 
and  dangerous  about  the  atmosphere  of  these  overground 
cellars. 

One  is  enveloped  in  a  luscious  atmosphere  of  vinous 
perfume,  and  in  such  circumstances  even  a  strong  head  may 
easily  find  itself  strangely  excited. 

As  the  guide  pauses  before  a  great  cask,  his  long  filler  and 
a  glass  in  his  hand,  certain  words  of  an  Immortal  reverberate 
in  one's  ears — 

And  lately,  by  the  Tavern  door  agape, 

Came  stealing  through  the  Dusk  an  Angel  Shape 

Bearing  a  Vessel  on  his  shoulder  :    and 

He  bid  me  taste  of  it  :    and  'twas — the  Grape  ! 

The  Grape  that  can  with  Logic  absolute 

The  Two-and-Seventy  jarring  Sects  confute  : 

The  subtle  Alchemists  that  in  a  trice 

Life's  leaden  Metal  into  Gold  transmute. 

To  the  visitor  the  tasting  of  these  delicious  wines — these 
Amontillados  and  Olorosos  and  Manzanillas,  in  their  varied 
shades  of  brown  and  amber  and  gold — is  but  a  pleasant 
experience,  but  to  the  expert  it  is  a  very  serious  matter  indeed. 
It  is  in  connection  with  tasting  that  the  skill  of  the  grower  is 
chiefly  centred,  for  it  is  necessary  that  his  delicate  sense  of 
smell  and  taste  should  be  constantly  employed  in  noting  the 
qualities  his  wines  may  be  developing.     But  the  juice  of  the 


202  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

grape  has  to  go  through  various  stages  before  the  moment 
for  tasting  arrives. 

A  few  hours  after  the  "  must  " — the  unfermented  grape 
juice — has  been  put  into  casks  the  phenomenon  of  fermenta- 
tion commences  to  be  noticed.  The  noise  of  the  effervescence 
may  be  heard  :  the  temperature  rises,  the  colour  changes, 
and  a  vinous  flavour  takes  the  place  of  the  sugary  taste  of 
the  "must." 

These  changes  are  more  observable  when  once  the  tumul- 
tuous fermentation  is  over,  and  this,  in  the  system  employed 
at  Jerez,  is  allowed  to  take  place  spontaneously.  That  is 
to  say,  without  being  hastened  by  the  addition  of  any  foreign 
matter.-  A  slow  fermentation  is  then  permitted  for  two  or 
three  months — the  time  varying  according  to  the  nature  and 
quahties  of  the  "  must,"  the  ripeness  of  the  fruit,  and  the 
quantity  of  natural  sugar  contained  in  the  grapes. 

The  liquid  becomes  clear  at  last.  Everything  insoluble  is 
precipitated  and  the  matter  which  was  kept  floating  by  the 
fermentation  forms  a  sediment.  And  at  this  stage  the 
functions  of  the  vintager  end  and  those  of  the  storer  begin. 
It  is  not  quite  an  easy  matter  for  an  amateur  to  under- 
stand the  various  processes  :  in  fact,  it  is  impossible  unless 
explanations  are — as  in  my  case — very  clearly  given. 

WTien  the  liquid  has  become  clear — as  above  described — 
the  first  thing  the  storer  has  to  do  is  to  decant  it  with  the 
utmost  care.  Casks  suitable  for  this  purpose  are  selected  and 
filled  with  clear  liquid.  And  then  a  new  series  of  operations 
is  commenced,  in  which  the  different  qualities  of  the  wine  are 
determined. 

"  Must  "  should  not  remain  less  than  five  years  in  the  cellar, 
for  before  this  time  has  expired  the  wine  is  not  considered 
"  made."  When  the  wine  is  in  good  condition  a  slow  fermen- 
tation takes  place,  which  is  unperceived  in  action,  but  not 
in  result :  it  is  during  this  process  that  the  wines  themselves 
indicate  their  class  by  the  alcoholic  strength  and  aroma  which 
they   develop :    by  the  discoloration  which  some  undergo, 


Commerce  and  Industries  203 

and  by  the  colour  which  is  observed  in  others :  also  by  the 
distinct  taste  which  each  one  acquires. 

To  watch  and  guide  these  manifestations  of  the  wines,  for 
a  period  of  many  years,  is  a  task  which  demands  great  intelli- 
gence and  perseverance.  In  some  cases  wines  remain  in  the 
"  nursery  "  for  thirty,  forty,  or  fifty  years  ! 

I  mentioned  a  httle  time  ago  that  the  fine  qualities  of  sherry 
depend  very  largely  upon  the  soil  in  which  the  vines  are 
grown :  upon  the  sun  and  upon  climatic 
The  Vineyards,  environments  generally.  In  the  Jerez  district 
there  are  four  distinct  soils,  and  each  one  is 
eminently  suitable  for  the  culture  of  vines.  On  the  river 
banks  there  is  loamy  sand-soil  which  produces  an  abundance 
of  grapes :  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Jerez  the  soil  is  also 
mixed  largely  with  sand,  and  here  quantities  of  grapes  are 
produced  which  are  converted  into  wines  for  home  consump- 
tion. Then  there  is  the  soil  called  barras,  which  consists  chiefly 
of  sandy  quartz  mixed  with  lime  and  oxide  of  iron,  and  the 
fourth  soil,  chiefly  found  on  the  slopes  of  the  low  hills  which 
surround  the  town,  which  consists  of  carbonate  of  lime  and 
silex.  It  is  on  these  slopes  that  the  vines  are  grown  which 
produce  grapes  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  the  finest 
sherry.  These  latter  precious  vines  are  treated  with  extreme 
care,  and  are  unceasingly  watched  and  cherished. 

Immediately  after  a  crop  of  grapes  has  been  gathered  a  little 
pit  is  hollowed  out  round  the  stem  of  each  plant,  so  that  the 
roots  may  have  full  benefit  of  the  autumn  rains  :  the  vines  are 
carefully  pruned,  and  after  the  rainy  season  the  hollows  round 
the  stems  are  filled  up,  and  the  soil  is  carefully  turned  over.  Not 
a  single  weed  is  to  be  found  in  a  properly  cared  for  vineyard. 

At  vintage  time  the  bunches  of  grapes  are  gathered  chiefly 

by  women  and  a  thousand  persons  are  frequently  employed 

at  the  same  time  at  the  work.     The  luscious 

The  Vintage,     bunches  are  then  spread  out  on  round  mats 

to  dry  in  the  sun,  and  unripe — or  over-ripe — 

grapes  are  carefully  picked  out.     The   "  treading "  of  the 


204  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

grapes  comes  next,  and  this  is  done  by  men  who  wear  a  peculiar 
make  of  sabot.  The  "  press  "  is  a  primitive  construction, 
and  those  of  to-day  are  almost  identical,  in  every  respect, 
with  the  "  lagars  "  or  presses  used  by  the  ancients.  They 
are  great  wooden  troughs,  about  ten  feet  square,  and  in  the 
centre  of  each  trough  there  is  a  screw-press  which  is  used  when 
the  "  treading  "  process  is  finished. 

About  one  ton  of  grapes  serve  for  one  pressing.  The  men 
in  sabots  tread  the  grapes  in  a  methodical  manner,  row  by  row, 
and  it  is  said  that  the  average  weight  of  a  man  is  just  sufficient 
to  press  out  the  juice  without  injuring  the  skins  or  branches  of 
the  grapes.  After  the  "  treading  "  process  the  juice  is  allowed 
to  begin  the  process  of  fermentation  as  above  described. 

The  quantity  of  "  must  "  produced,  as  in  all  agricultural 
products,  varies  very  much  from  year  to  year.     The  vines 

are  influenced  by  the  state  of  the  climate 
^'tht'^Graper^     during  the  months  of  July  and  August,  when 

the  berries  are  swelling.  If  the  weather  be 
moderately  hot,  and  damp  winds  prevail,  the  grapes  develop 
slowly  and  the  maximum  number  of  bunches  are  obtained. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  winds  be  easterly  in  the  month  of 
August  the  fruit  suffers  considerable  damage  :  it  shrinks  and 
hardens  and  a  large  quantity  of  "  must  "  is  lost.  In  a 
good  season  2,000  casks  of  "  must  " — each  cask  containing 
about  470  litres — may  be  obtained,  and  in  less  favourable 
circumstances  not  more  than  500  casks  ! 

Sherry — for  some  unknown  reason — has  been  more  or  less 
out  of  fashion  in  England  of  recent  years.     And  this  seems 

a   pity,    since    really   fine  sherry   is,    of   all 

^^wines  '"  ^^"^^'  °"^  °^  ^^^  healthiest.  It  is  an 
excellent  tonic,  and  the  Spanish  doctors 
frequently  give  it  as  a  restorative  instead  of  brandy. 

The  present  King  of  Spain  is  determined  to  do  all  he  can 
to  bring  back  into  general  favour  the  famous  wines  of  his 
country,  and  on  the  royal  yacht,  the  Giralda,  wines  and 
cognacs  from  Jerez  are  always  served  in  preference  to  others. 


Commerce  and  Industries 


205 


Spanish  light  wines — red  and  white — are  inexpensive  and 
agreeable,  and  a  little  time  ago  a  scheme  was  suggested  for 
starting,  in  London,  a  number  of  establishments  in  which 
these  wines  might  be  sold  at  moderate  prices. 

Undoctored  Spanish  wines  can  make  long  journeys  with- 
out the  least  injury,  and  twelve-gallon  casks  are  largely 
shipped  to  England  from  Tarragona  and  from  other 
ports. 

In  the  year  1907  the  following  Spanish  wines  were  exported 
to  England — 


Red  wine 

.     4,941   litres 

White  wine     .  . 

.     3,148      „ 

Fragrant  wine  (Jerez) 

449      „ 

Other  Jerez  wines     . . 

.      5,171       „ 

Malaga  wines .  . 

.     4,606      „ 

Generous  wines 

227      „ 

Mixed  wine     .  . 

128      „ 

The  Orange 
Trade. 


Valencia  is  always  associated  in  our  minds  with  oranges 
and  with  olives.  Both  these  fruits  are  grown,  and  in  quanti- 
ties, in  other  parts  of  Spain,  but  the  Valencian 
orange,  as  the  Valencian  oUve,  is  world 
famous.  Valencia  itself  is  a  very  interesting 
town.  Its  history,  since  the  days  when  Decimus  Junius 
Brutus — 138  B.C. — settled  the  captive  Lusitanians  there,  has 
been  very  romantic  and  stormy. 

In  the  year  1094,  on  the  disruption  of  the  Cahphats  of 
Cordova,  Valencia  was  made  the  capital  of  an  independent 
kingdom  which  extended  along  the  coast  from  Almeria  to 
the  Ebro.  Under  the  Cathohc  Kings  Valencia  was  annexed 
to  Castile  and  later  its  espousal  of  the  cause  of  the  Hapsburgs, 
in  the  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  led  to  the  abolition  of 
its  ancient  fueros. 

At  one  time  Valencia  was  one  of  the  great  centres  of  trade 
and  commerce  in  Spain,  and  of  late  years  its  silk  industries 
are  again  taking  a  place  of  importance  and  it  ranks  first  as 
the  land  of  oranges,  ohves,  raisins,  and  such  good  things. 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr,  Enrique  Behn,  who  is  the  owner  of 


206  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

extensive  orange  groves,  for  some  interesting  notes  on  the 
orange  trade  of  this  beautiful  Province. 

The  crop  begins  about  the  end  of  October  or  beginning  of 
November  of  each  year,  and  finishes  at  the  end  of  May  or 
beginning  of  June.  Each  crop  is  divided  into  two  seasons : 
the  first  extending  from  November  to  January,  when  the 
oranges  of  the  south  of  Valencia  down  to  Gandia  are  packed 
and  shipped  ;  the  second  extending  from  February  to  the 
end  of  May  or  beginning  of  June,  when  the  oranges  of  the 
north  are  packed  and  shipped. 

The  cultivation  of  orange  groves  requires  very  special  care, 
and  of  recent  years  the  use  of  artificial  manure  has  worked 
wonders  for  the  soil,  which  has  also  the  benefit  of  a  singularly 
perfect  system  of  irrigation. 

The  method  of  packing  the  Valencian  oranges  is  somewhat 
different  to  that  applied  to  those  of  Italy.  In  Valencia  the 
golden  fruit  is  simply  packed  in  small  pieces  of  tissue  paper, 
in  cases  of  420,  714,  or  1,064  oranges,  according  to  the  size 
of  the  fruit.  After  the  oranges  have  been  gathered  from 
the  trees  they  are  carried  direct  to  the  warehouses  and  there 
left  for  several  days,  so  that  all  humidity  may  evaporate 
before  they  are  packed.  It  is  absolutely  essential  that  these 
warehouses  be  very  large  and  well  ventilated,  otherwise  the 
fruit  would  not  be  in  good  condition  for  packing. 

For  the  actual  packing  of  the  fruit  women  are  largely 
employed,  and  their  first  business  is  to  assort  the  oranges 
according  to  size  and  quality.  They  then  carefully  wrap  up 
each  orange  in  a  small  piece  of  tissue  paper,  on  which  is 
stamped  the  name  of  the  exporter,  and  after  this  the  fruit 
is  placed  in  the  cases  above  mentioned. 

The  production  and  exportation  of  Spanish  oranges  has 
fluctuated  a  little  during  the  past  few  years.  The  statistics 
are  as  follows — 


1902/3  .. 

.  .     4  400,000  cases 

1903/4  . . 

. .     4,200,000      „ 

1904/5  .. 

. .      3,300,000      „ 

1907/8  . . 

. .     4  800,000      ., 

Commerce  and  Industries  207 

Of  the  above  mentioned  quantities  about  70%  goes  to 
England  and  30%  to  the  Continent.  Besides  the  figures  given 
there  are  about  1 ,000,000  cases  consumed  in  Spain  each  year. 

The  Valencian  port  is  the  most  important,  so  far  as  the 
orange  trade  is  concerned,  but  this  fruit  is  also  shipped  at 
Gandia,  Burriana,  and  Castellon. 

The  olive  is  greatly  valued  in  Spain,  and  is  put  to  all  sorts 

of  uses.     Besides  the  immense  quantity  of  olive  oil  extracted 

from  the  fruit,  for  home  use  and  for  expor- 

^Inr^^^fvi  T^  tation,  the  preserved  olive  appears  on  every 

Spain.  Spanish  table  as  an  hors  d'ceuvre,  and  it  is  eaten 

not  only  at  the  beginning  of  the  meal,  but 

between  the  courses.     Some  of  the  finest  preserved  olives  are 

stuffed  with  red  pimientos,  the  stone  being  removed  and  the 

pimiento  being  inserted  in  its  place.     The  taste  is  delicious 

and  the  harmony  of  colour  presented  by  the  green  olive 

and  the  scarlet  pimiento  is  a  feast  for  the  eyes. 

Olive  oil  is  largely  used  as  a  cosmetic  in  the  south  of  Spain. 
It  is  highly  beneficial  to  the  skin,  and  it  is  claimed  that  its 
continued  use  produces  the  golden-tinted  complexion  of  the 
Andalusian  beauties. 

The  fruit  is  picked  early  in  the  year,  never  before  January, 
since  the  Spanish  refrain  says  : — 

Si  coges  la  aceituna  antes  de  Enero, 
dejaras  el  aceite  en  el  madero. 

The  picking  begins  after  the  first  rainfall  of  the  year.  By 
that  time  the  fruit  is  ripe,  and  in  the  best  condition  for 
producing  fine  olive  oil.  The  process  of  picking  is  long  and 
tedious,  since  each  olive  has  to  be  removed  separately  and 
with  care,  so  that  the  young  shoots  may  not  be  injured,  for 
it  is  these  which  will  produce  next  year's  crop.  In  former 
times  it  was  customary  to  knock  down  the  fruit  with  long 
hooks,  but  it  was  found  that  this  was  injurious  to  the  trees. 

The  olives  when  picked  are  heaped  into  large  baskets  : 
some  are  taken  to  the  grinding  mill  to  make  olive  oil,  and  the 
larger  and  finer  olives  are  separated  for  preservation. 


208  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

The  grinding  process  takes  place  within  twenty-four  hours 
after  the  picking,  as  the  oHve  loses  its  aroma  if  kept  too  long. 
The  grinding  machine,  or  molino,  in  use  at  present,  is  of 
the  most  antiquated  design  :  it  consists  of  a  large  stone 
turned  by  horse-power,  which  grinds  the  olives  into  pulp, 

A  new  molino  is  being  perfected  by  the  Marques  de  Acapulco 
and  it  will  doubtless  take  the  place  of  the  old  system, 
which  has,  however,  the  advantage  of  serving  its  purpose 
admirably. 

When  the  fruit  is  ground,  great  baskets,  made  of  esparto 
grass,  are  filled  with  the  pulp  which  is  put  into  the  press  to 
extract  the  liquid. 

The  next  processes  are  those  of  cleaning,  by  means  of 
douches  of  tepid  water,  and  clarifying  :  the  liquid  being  left 
to  stand  some  time  so  that  the  oil  may  rise  to  the  surface. 

The  last  process  is  that  of  filtration  in  which  the  oil  is 
thoroughly  purified  and  all  extraneous  matter  extracted.  It 
is  then  a  brilliant,  clear,  gold  colour,  and  is  ready  for  bottling. 

Spain  has  always  been  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  its 

damaskeened   work.     At   the   present   day  the   three  great 

centres  for  its  production  are  Madrid,  Toledo, 

^^"work^"^'^    and  Eibar,  but  it  may  be  said  that  the  finest 
modern  specimens  of  the  art  are  produced  in 
Madrid  in  the  ateliers  of  Felipa,  in  the  Calle  Arenal. 

The  value  of  the  object  depends  upon  the  richness  of  the 
design.  All  the  objects  worked  on  are  made  of  pure  steel, 
and  they  take  the  form,  ordinarily,  of  watch-cases,  cigarette 
cases,  etc.  The  design  is  traced  with  a  burin  and  filled  in 
with  a  fine  thread  of  gold  :  numerous  instruments  are  used, 
such  as  a  small  hammer,  files,  and  chisels,  the  work  being 
extremely  delicate  and  complicated. 

When  the  gold  design  is  filled  in  the  object  is  passed  through 
the  fire,  to  tone  the  steel  to  the  velvety  black  tint  which, 
contrasting  with  the  gold,  is  the  great  beauty  of  the  work. 
In  some  of  the  more  costly  specimens  the  motif  is  raised  in 
relief :   heads  of  a  cameo-like  delicacy  are  worked  in  gold  and 


Commerce  and  Industries  209 

silver  on  the  background  of  dull  black.  Two  different  tones 
of  gold  are  frequently  introduced  on  the  same  object. 

Umbrella  handles,  photograph  frames,  and  sets  of  combs 
for  the  hair  are  most  effective  objects  for  incrustation.  One 
of  the  most  beautiful  specimens  of  this  work  that  I  have  ever 
seen  was  a  finely  modelled  vase  of  Arab  design,  with  a  delicate 
little  motif  worked  in  gold  on  a  uniform  ground  of  dull  black  : 
a  single  deep  red  rose  was  set  in  this  vase,  with  an  eye  for 
effect  that  was  truly  Spanish. 

The  fruit  trade  in  the  south  of  Spain  is  rapidly  increasing 

in  importance.     The  peculiar  richness  of  the  soil  produces  an 

abundance  of  luscious  fruit  of  all  sorts,  and 

Other  £g^j.  jnore  could  be  done  in  the  agricultural  line 

Industries.        .,     ,  ,    .     .        .  °        .  , 

if  the  system  of  imgation  were  unproved. 

All  the  southern  provinces  produce  rice,  maize,  sugar-cane, 

bananas,  pine-apples,  and  all   the  tropical  fruits :    besides 

splendid  tomatoes,  plums,  melons,  and,  of  course,  grapes. 

There  is  a  great  demand  for  Spanish  fruits  in  the  foreign 
markets,  as  the  peculiar  quahty  of  the  soil  produces  a  delicate 
yet  rich  flavour  which  is  often  lacking  in  the  fruit  grown  in 
more  temperate  climates.  The  grapes  of  Valencia  and 
Malaga,  for  example,  have  never  been  equalled  for  size  and 
flavour. 

One  cannot  help  thinking  how  much  more  might  be  achieved 
with  a  soil  in  which  anything  would  grow,  at  almost  any 
season  of  the  year,  if  it  were  sufficiently  watered.  It  is 
almost  inconceivable  that  plant  cultivation  should  be  so 
neglected  as  it  is  in  the  south  of  Spain  :  even  in  spring  it  is 
no  easy  matter  to  procure  flowers  in  any  quantity,  although 
by  going  early  to  the  market  one  can  buy  roses  of  extra- 
ordinary beauty  and  gigantic  carnations,  almost  all  of  which 
are  grown  in  pots  on  the  flat  roofs  of  the  houses  :  from  which 
fact  it  can  easily  be  realised  that  in  the  south  of  Spain  flowers 
are  by  no  means  cheap,  as  we — who  are  accustomed  to  buy 
flowers  in  London  and  Paris — understand  the  word ! 

Until  within  recent  years  the  silk  and  wool  trade  of  Spain 


210 


Spain  of  the  Spanish 


has  not  extended  much  beyond  her  own  frontiers.  The  silken 
goods  manufactured  in  the  Peninsula  have  always  been  of 
the  very  best  quahty :  they  are  made  entirely  of  pure  silk, 
hence  their  lasting  qualities.  The  silk  petticoats  worn  by 
many  of  the  peasant  women,  the  velvet  trousers  of  the 
Aragones  and  the  beautiful  silk  madroneras  and  mantillas 
are  all  made  from  home-grown  material,  and  will  last  for 
generations  without  wearing  out. 

Quantities  of  mulberry  trees  are  grown  in  the  south  for  the 
rearing  of  the  silk-worms. 

The  same  standard  of  excellence  applies  to  the  Spanish 
cane-sugar  :  in  fact  it  may  be  said  of  the  Spaniards  that  if 
they  make  a  thing  at  all  they  make  it  well.  The  Spanish 
cane-sugar  is  absolutely  pure,  and  although  the  trade  has  been 
much  injured  by  cheap  German  beet-sugar,  its  superiority 
is  being  recognised  everywhere  at  the  present  day. 

As  a  final  note  to  this  httle  chapter  on  Spanish  Commerce 
and  Industries,  I  append  a  table  of  figures  which  will,  I  think, 

An  Interesting   ^^  ^^  some  interest.     It  gives,  roughly  and 
Table  of        without  particulars,    a   list   of   the   Exports 
Figures.         q^^^  Imports — of  Spain — during  a  period  of 
over  fifty  years. 

Annual  Imports  and  Exports,  Covering  50  Years 


Imports 

Exports 

1853. 

183,608,728  pesetas      208,955,686  pesetas 

1858. 

376,139,516 

242,839,951 

1863. 

474,627,730 

304,967,774 

1868. 

573,893,343 

277,485,160 

1873. 

532,116,446 

588,162,112 

1878. 

547,183,774 

479,878,207 

1883. 

893,446,011 

719,468,414 

1888. 

716,085,479 

763,104.389 

1893. 

770,715,408 

709,706,877 

1898. 

723,444,369 

918,943,206 

1899. 

1,045.391,983 

864,367,885 

1903. 

977,859,650 

945,978,417 

1905. 

1,087,661,953 

993,871,315 

1906. 

1,056,090,154 

937,583,811 

CHAPTER  XI 

THE    SPANISH 

It  is  a  thankless  task  to  attempt  to  sum  up,  in  a  few  words, 

the  characteristics  of  the  individuals  who,  en  masse,  make  up 

a  great  nation,  but  in  the  case  of  the  Spaniards 

^^Peo'^t"'^^  the  handicapping  of  this  task  is  regulated  by 
feeling  rather  than  by  practical  knowledge. 
You  are  born  with  a  power  of  understanding  the  people  of 
Spain  or — you  are  not. 

I  am  absolutely  certain  that  if  this  power  does  not  come 
from  within,  a  gift  of  Nature  which  may  or  may  not  find  an 
opportunity  of  making  itself  prominent,  it  can  never  be 
obtained  :  it  will  resist  the  call  of  the  most  diligent  and 
patient  study.  On  the  other  hand,  if  your  own  nature  be 
in  genuine  sympathy  with  the  atmosphere  of  Spain,  you  will 
quickly  and  easily  draw  into  yourself  many  delicate  little 
threads  of  sympathetic  understanding  which  will  surely 
creep  towards  you  and,  when  taking  possession  of  these,  you 
will,  unconsciously,  send  off  emissaries  of  a  like  character, 
in  return. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  why  so  many  persons  are  dis- 
appointed on  visiting  Spain.  They  are  disappointed  because 
they  rarely  find  just  what  they  expect  to  find.  And  this  is 
true  of  the  country  and  people  alike. 

The  word  "  Spain  "  has  always  had  the  power  to  stir 
the  imagination  and  to  set  adrift  a  fleet  of  golden  dreams. 
Theophile  Gautier  realised  this,  and  so  did  Victor  Hugo,  and 
many  others.  But  then  it  is  unfortunately  true  that  the 
golden  dreams  of  such  artists  as  these  have,  not  infrequently, 
had  disastrous  effects  on  ordinary  minds.  What  they  have 
painted  does  not,  for  the  greater  part,  really  exist. 


212  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

One  very  marked  peculiarity  connected  with  Spain  is  that 

it  arouses,  with  unbehevable  facility,  the  spirit  of  exaggeration. 

The    country    is   always  represented   as   the 

The  Spirit  of     ^^^^   ^j.   ^^le  worst :    the    most   adorable  or 
Exaggeration.  . 

the  most  detestable  :     the  most  enchantmg 

or  the   most    disappointing.      Its    women  are    marvels    of 

beauty  or  they  are  "  quite  ordinary  " — just  as  the  spirit  of 

exaggeration  influences  individual  cases.     And,  naturally,  all 

this  is  exceedingly  misleading.     If  a  traveller  has  fed  his  mind 

on  the  encomiums  of  a  poetic  enthusiast  he  will  probably 

expect  to  find  Andalusia  one  huge  flower  garden,  where  roses 

and  orange  blossoms  may  be  culled  on  every  side  :    where 

exquisite  women,  with  languid  eyes  and  costumes  similar  to 

those  depicted  on  the  outside  of  a  Malaga  date  box,  wear 

"  gracious  mantillas  "  every  day  of  the  week  and  promenade 

the  streets,  followed  by  a  train  of  "  toreadors  "  :    the  latter 

in  "  gorgeous  attire  "  ! 

Recently  I  read  a  very  amusing  little  article  in  one  of  the 
leading  Madrid  papers  apropos  of  this  spirit  of  exaggeration — 
which  the  Spaniards  themselves  hold  in  sovereign  contempt. 
It  was  a  semi-serious  criticism  on  a  story  of  modem  Spanish 
life,  written  by  a  brilliant  Parisian  ;  and — in  passing — it  may 
be  remarked  that  French  writers  have  given  more  highly- 
coloured  accounts  of  Spain,  and  rather  more  inaccurate,  than 
the  writers  of  any  other  nation.  In  this  story  a  certain  society 
woman  was  described,  in  ordinary  daily  life,  as  wearing  a 
gorgeous  manton  de  Manila,  and  conducting  a  little  affaire 
de  coeur  with  a  picador  in  traje  de  luces  !  It  was  a  story  which 
out  of  Spain  would  probably  have  been  described  as  "  very 
Spanish,"  but  which,  in  Spain,  was  regarded  as  simply 
ridiculous,  for  neither  picadors,  nor  matadors,  nor  banderilleros 
ever  wear  traje  de  luces  except  at  a  bull-fight,  and  neither 
society  women  nor  any  others  wear  mantones  de  Manila  except 
at  Fiestas  or — on  occasions — in  the  house,  when  dancing ! 

I  confess  that  on  visiting  Sevilla  for  the  first  time,  in  winter, 
my  disappointment  was  very  great  at  the  lack  of  flowers. 


The  Spanish  213 

There,  in  the  midst  of  brilliant  sunshine,  with  soil  that  would 
grow  everything  and  anything,  and  in  profusion,  it  was  quite  a 
difficult  matter  to  get  enough  flowers  to  decorate  the  dinner-table. 

In  London,  or  in  Paris,  roses  and  violets  and  mimosa  "  from 

the  South  "  are  to  be  seen  at  every  street  corner  all  through 

the    coldest   winters,  but   in    Sevilla  hardly 

Possibilities  of    anyone  takes  the  trouble  to  grow  them.      I 

Cultivation,      have    often   thought  that  a  very  nice,    and 

sufficiently  lucrative,  little  industry  might  be 

worked  by  a  clever  woman-gardener  who  understood  how  to 

take  advantage  of  the  possibilities  of  an  Andalusian  winter. 

Before  trying  to  describe  the  Spaniards  as  individuals,  I 
should  like  to  pause  a  moment  for  the  purpose  of  pointing  out 
one  or  two  reasons  why  foreigners,  especially  the  English  and 
the  Americans,  find  them  hard  to  understand. 

Taking  England  first,  and  looking  at  the  matter  from  a 
general  point  of  view,  for  in  individual  cases  the  understanding 
between  Spain  and  England  is  quite  perfect,  it  may  be  said 
that  what — on  the  Continent — is  known  as  "  the  English 
manner,"  is  offensive  to  the  average  Spaniard,  He  does  not 
understand  it ! 

There  is  no  more  truly  democratic  country  in  the  world 
than  Spain — no  exception  being  made  in  the  case  of  America  : 
and  the  spirit  of  democracy  which  pervades  the  country  is  a 
noble  and  dignified  one.  Englishmen,  when  on  the  Continent, 
adopt  very  often,  perhaps  quite  unconsciously,  one  of  two 
manners.  They  are  either  frankly  superior  or  they  are 
patronizing.  And  the  average  Spaniard  will  not  acknowledge 
the  superiority  any  more  than  he  will  accept  the  patronage. 
And  then  the  Enghshman — and,  in  this  connection,  America 
may  join  hands — sees  no  reason  why  things  in  Spain  should 
not  be  done  as  "at  home  "  ! 

With  all  my  own  personal  love  for  Spain,  and  feeling,  as  I 
do,  that  the  manana  bugbear  has  been  done  to  death,  I  do 
not  hesitate  to  say  that  no  southern  Spaniard  understands, 
even  in  a  vague  way,  the  meaning  of  the  verb  "  to  hustle," 

15— (2399) 


214  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

He  does  not  "  hustle  "  himself,  and  he  will  not  permit  anyone 
else  to  "  hustle  "  him.  If  he  happens  to  be  in  business  he 
conducts  that  business  in  his  own  way,  on  his  own  Unes,  and 
it  is  worse  than  useless  to  try  to  bring  about  a  change.  Much 
better  give  in  at  once  and  accept  the  inevitable  :  for  inevitable 
it  is. 

I  should  like  it  to  be  clearly  understood  that  in  this  chapter, 
when  speaking  of  "  The  Spaniards,"  I  am  thinking  chiefly  of 
Andalusia  and  its  people.  Cataluiia  is  another  affair  alto- 
gether, and  will  be  treated  exhaustively  in  the  final  chapter 
of  this  book.  And  then  the  people  of  Madrid,  the  members 
of  the  Court  circles,  the  clubmen,  etc.,  etc.,  all  these  also 
belong  to  a  different  world.  When  trying  to  arrive  at  some 
just  idea  of  the  character  and  temperament  of  a  people  you 
do  not,  if  you  are  wise,  go  to  the  capital  city  :  most  certainly 
you  do  not  found  your  conclusions  on  the  ideas  and  actions 
of  Court  circles,  for  Court  circles  are  very  much  the  same  all 
over  the  civilized  world.  The  same  people  meet,  year  after 
year,  in  Paris,  London,  Madrid,  Vienna,  or  St.  Petersburg. 
They  are  delightful  and  cultured,  but  they  are  cosmopolitan. 

The  southern  Spaniard  is  in  some  respects  like  a  wise  child. 
He  recognises  instinctively,  and  with  disconcerting  rapidity, 
the  person  who  is  really  sympathetic  to  him.  He  may  be, 
from  the  school-board  stand-point,  illiterate,  but  he  is  an 
excellent  judge  of  character.  He  judges  instinctively — like 
a  child — but  his  conclusions  are  rarely  at  fault.  And  then 
"  side  "  is  as  foreign  to  him  as  is  the  verb  "  to  hustle." 

It  has  been  asserted  again  and  again  that  the  Spaniards  are, 

as  a  race,  very  cruel.     I  have  already  referred  to  this  subject 

in  the  chapter,  "  Sports  and  Pastimes  " — in 

If  ^cSdtf^  connection  with  the  bull-fight— but  just  here 
I  should  like  to  say  that  in  my  own  wanderings 
in  the  Peninsula  I  have  never  seen  any  special  acts  of  cruelty. 
From  personal  observation  I  am  led  to  conclude  that  animals 
are  as  well  treated  in  Spain  as  in  most  other  European 
countries :   certainly  one  sees  in  the  streets  of  southern  Italy 


The  Spanish  215 

far  more  cruelty  than,  in  the  same  circumstances,  in  southern 
Spain. 

At  the  same  time,  it  quite  well  may  be  that  the  southern 
Spaniard  is  in  reahty  cruel  to  animals,  for  his  nature  is,  in 
some  respects,  cruel,  as  it  is  self-centred.  You  cannot  attend 
a  theatrical  performance,  a  concert,  or  a  bull-fight,  without 
realising  this. 

The  whole  attention  of  the  individual  spectator  is  centred 
on  himself :  on  his  own  feelings  of  the  moment.  If  he  is 
pleased  he  applauds  most  heartily :  if  it  chances  that  he  is 
displeased  he  rages  violently  and  quite  as  heartily.  It 
matters  not  at  all  that  the  special  performer  is  an  old 
favourite  :  someone  who — from  the  English  point  of  view — 
ought  to  be  considered  because  of  past  successes.  The  feeling 
of  "  let's  give  him  a  hand  because  he — or  she — used  to  be  a 
good  'un,"  is  unintelligible  to  the  average  Spaniard.  And  for 
this  reason  he  is  one  of  the  keenest  and  most  cruel  of  critics. 
He  judges  of  what  he  actually  hears  and  sees,  without  care 
or  thought  of  either  past  or  future. 

As  Spain  is  the  land  of  the  unexpected  it  ought  not  to  come 

as  a  surprise  to  us  to  find  that  the  women — especially  those 

of  the  south — almost  invariably  dress  in  black, 

^^^  TaS^"  °^  ^"  ^^^  ^^^®®*-  ^"^  y^^  ^^  ^^  ^  surprise  !  And, 
after  the  first  shock  of  amazement,  a  delightful 
one  ;  for  in  the  narrow  white  streets  of  the  Andalusian  towns 
with  overhead  a  flaming  ball  of  liquid  fire  lying  against  a 
limitless  field  of  deepest  sapphire  and  in  the  courts  and  open 
squares  giant  date-palms  and  orange  trees  laden  with  golden 
fruit,  the  sombre  garments  of  dull  black  strike  a  note  of 
perfect  harmony. 

And  let  me  explain  that  in  the  street — except  on  certain 
rare  occasions — the  mantilla  is  never  worn.  There  is  a  vast 
difference  between  the  Spanish  mantilla  and  the  veto.  The 
former  is  worn  on  state  occasions  only  :  in  black,  during  the 
Holy  Week,  as  I  have  explained  in  my  chapter  on  Fiestas, 
and  in  pure  white  or  ivory  at  the  buU-fight  and,  in  carriages, 


216  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

at  the  Ferias.  The  Spaniards  are  a  very  conservative  people  : 
they  have  set  times  for  wearing  certain  things,  and  in  no 
possible  circumstances  can  these  things  be  worn  save  at  these 
set  times.  The  velo — which  is  in  reality  a  long  black  lace 
scarf — is  the  ordinary  head-dress  of  the  Andalusian  women, 
in  almost  every  class  of  society,  for  early  morning  wear,  for 
shopping  and  for  going  to  Mass. 

While  the  mantilla  has  to  be  arranged  with  great  care  and 
draped  over  a  wonderful  erection  composed  of  a  high  comb 
and  a  quantity  of  flowers,  placed  at  one  side  of  the  head,  well 
towards  the  front,  the  velo  is  simply  thrown  over  the  hair 
and  lightly  fastened  at  the  breast  with  fancy  pins  or  with  a 
brooch.  It  is  a  peculiarly  becoming  head-dress  and  speciaUy 
suitable  for  Spanish  women  who  have  their  hair  dressed  very 
neatly.  I  use  the  words  "  have  their  hair  dressed  "  with 
intention  because  the  peinadora,  or  female  hairdresser,  is  an 
indispensable  adjunct  to  daily  life.  In  the  more  humble 
walks  of  Andalusian  life  she  makes  a  beautiful  coiffure  for 
such  a  modest  sum  as  15  or  20  centimes  (less  than  twopence), 
and  for  this  sum  she  not  only  dresses  the  hair,  but  also  brushes 
it  most  carefully.  The  average  Spanish  woman  adopts  a 
neat  style  of  hairdressing :  the  coils  on  the  top  of  the  head 
are  perfectly  arranged  but  the  outline  is  entirely  free  from 
exaggeration  :  in  the  morning,  with  the  velo,  quite  a  small 
tortoise-shell  comb  is  worn  on  the  top  of  the  head,  and  this 
comb  makes  the  lace  scarf  remain  in  position. 

In  Sevilla  the  little  dressmakers  and  other  women  of  the 
same  class  wear,  winter  and  summer,  a  simple  but  delightful 
style  of  dress.  In  winter  the  dress  itself  is  almost  always 
black,  and  it  is  accompanied  by  a  black  crepe  de  chine  shawl 
with  long  fringes  :  this  shawl  is  demurely  drawn  over  the 
shoulders  and  crossed  in  front.  In  summer  the  same  shawl 
is  worn,  but  it  is  accompanied  by  a  print  dress,  of  pale  blue 
or  rose  pink,  and  by  a  rose  or  carnation,  placed  at  one  side 
of  the  smooth  hair.  Women  of  this  class  rarely,  if  ever, 
wear  a  velo. 


r'-^^  ^* 


PItoto  by 


?•? 


*-Jr    M. 


.:^^i^ 
./ 


A   BEAUTIFUL    SEVILLANA 


The  Spanish  217 

Spanish  women  undoubtedly  have  remarkably  pretty,  and 
smaD,  hands  and  feet.  But  then,  when  comparing  these 
important  points  with  those  of  French,  English,  and  American 
women  it  must  be  realised  that  the  Spanish  boot-  and  shoe- 
maker is  an  artist  worthy  of  all  praise.  Old-fashioned  he  may 
be — and  is,  if  to  be  old-fashioned  means  a  refusal  to  be  "  new  " 
— but  he  understands  that  the  small  feet  of  a  woman  were 
given  her  as  a  special  gift  of  Nature,  and  he  refrains  from 
adding  three  or  four  inches  to  their  length.  Once  a  woman 
has  worn  a  Spanish-made  boot  or  shoe  she  finds  it  impossible 
again  to  accept  the  long-toed-pointed-toed  horrors  now  so 
fashionable  in  America  and  in  Paris. 

The  politeness  of  the  Spaniards  is  a  much-discussed  point. 

In  the  first  place,  they  are  frequently  accused  of  saying  very 

much  more  than  they  mean  when  they  say  : 

Politeness.      "  En  Calle  So-and-So   13  tiene   V  su  casa," 

which    means    literally :     "At    Number    13 

So-and-So  Street  you  have  a  house  "  ;    or,  in  other  words, 

that  you  will  be  welcome  when  you  call  upon  the  speaker. 

For  my  own  part,  I  cannot  see  that  this  very  polite  and 

charming  little  speech  even  borders  on  the  untrue  :  it  is  only 

spoken  to  those  who  will  certainly  be  received,  if  they  call,  and 

though  the  figure  of  speech  is  not  English,  it  is  distinctly 

giaceful.     The   fashion  of  offering  for  acceptance  anything 

admired  is  now  dying  out,  but  even  that  was  merely  a  polite 

phrase  which  obviously  had  no  practical  meaning. 

A  more  difficult  form  of  politeness — or  impoliteness — to 
deal  with  is  the  habit,  in  Andalusia,  of  expressing  opinions 
about  passers-by,  in  the  street ;  and  this  in  a  clearly  audible 
voice.  It  is,  from  every  point  of  view,  an  embarrassing  habit ! 
The  Spaniard  of  good  society  does  not,  of  course,  take  part 
in  this  amusement :  it  is  left  to  the  ordinary  man-of-the- 
street-corner,  but  as  this  latter  personage  is  in  the  majority  in 
all  the  Andalusian  cities  the  difficulty  has  to  be  faced.  In 
theory  this  habit  cannot  be  too  harshly  condemned,  but  in 
practice ,  well,  circumstances  sometimes  alter  cases,  and 


218  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

the  southern  Spaniard  knows  how  to  turn  his  phrases 
charmingly,  when  a  pretty  woman  is  concerned  ! 

One  thing  certain  is  that  foreign  visitors  to  Sevilla,  Cordova, 
etc.,  must  make  up  their  minds  to  accept  these  audible 
criticisms  in  the  spirit  in  which  the  Spanish  women  accept 
them.  They  must  pass  along  quietly  as  if,  in  hearing  without 
heeding,  they  accepted  such  glowing  words  of  praise  as  a 
natural  tribute  of  a  mere  man  to  one  of  the  Queens  of  the 
Earth. 

I  think  Bizet's  delicious  "  Carmen  "  has  a  great  deal  to 

answer  for  when  travellers  rail  at  the  shortcomings  of  Spain. 

I  lay  stress  on  the  name  Bizet,  because  the 

heetnd^^     original   Carmen   of   Prosper   Merrim6e   was 

quite  another  thing.     The  Carmen  of  Bizet  is 

a  fascinating  creature,  born  of  genius  in  wedlock  with  the 

stage.     Sometimes,   when  interpreted  by  the  divine   Calv6, 

for  example,  she  is  put  before  us  as  an  elegante  possessed  of 

a  dissolute  soul  and  an  amorous  body.     Sometimes  she    is 

frankly  an  audacious  cafe  chantant  performer.     Always,  and 

in  all  forms,  and  because  of  the  genius  which  helped  to  create 

her,  she  is  fascinating,  but  rarely  is  she  the  Carmen  of  Prosper 

Merimee  ;    for  the  latter  was  wholly  and  entirely  a  cigarrera 

of  Sevilla.     And  the  cigarette  makers  of  Sevilla  have  nothing 

in  common  with  the  cafe  chantant  element. 

In  the  tobacco  factory  you  will  find,  perhaps,  6,000  women, 
of  all  sorts  and  conditions.  Women  pretty,  plain,  fat,  coarse, 
brazen,  comely,  and — a  few — quite  beautiful :  but  while  you 
may  look  in  vain  for  even  one  who  might,  by  stretching  an 
elastic  imagination,  suggest  the  Carmen  of  Bizet,  you  will  find 
very  many  who  might,  at  the  moment,  have  stepped  right  out 
of  Merimee 's  picture. 

In  speaking  of   Prosper  Merimee  and   his  Carmen,   it  is 

impossible   to  curb  the  thoughts  which  fly 

^^EugSi?r^^     back   to   the   days  when   Merimee   was    the 

friend   and   respectful   admirer   of  the   most 

notable  Spanish  woman  of  recent  times.       Of  Eugenia  de 


The  Spanish  219 

Guzman  y  Porto,  ex-Empress  of  the  French  and,  even  yet, 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  women. 

When  a  woman  becomes  so  world-famous  as  the  Empress 
Eugenie  her  nationality  is  easily  forgotten.  She  seems  to 
belong  to  the  world  at  large.  But  Granada,  once  the  glory 
of  the  Moorish  kings,  once  the  stronghold  of  Boabdil  the 
unlucky,  was  her  birthplace,  and  her  family,  past  and  present, 
has  been  and  still  is,  closely  connected  with  various  parts  of 
Andalusia.  At  Granada  the  house  in  which  the  Empress  was 
born  can  still  be  seen,  but  it  is  in  a  dilapidated  state. 

It  was  in  the  year  1830  that  Prosper  Merim^e  first  met  the 
Condesa  de  Teba  y  de  Montijo — mother  of  the  Empress — and 
from  that  date  to  the  end  of  his  life  he  cherished  for  this 
remarkable  woman  a  sincere  admiration  and  friendship.  The 
Condesa  was  possessed  of  a  very  determined  character,  and  in 
this  connection  Merimee  once  said  to  her  :  "  Vous  m'avez 
habitue  a  croire  que  tout  ce  que  vous  vouliez  s' accomplissait." 

In  thinking  of  the  life  of  the  Empress  Eugenie  two  famous 

sayings,  connected  with  Granada,  rush  to  the  front.     The  first, 

an  inscription  on  the  walls  of  the  Alhambra,  would  willingly 

have  been  repeated  by  a  thousand  voices  in  the  hours  of  her 

triumph — 

Wert  thou  compared  to  the  stars  they  would  be  humbled  :  were 
splendour  and  nobility  wanting  to  thy  dignity,  thy  person  would  give 
it  sufficient  lustre. 

The  second,  the  words  of  Boabdil,  spoken  on  the  spot  known 
as  El  Ultimo  Suspiro  del  Moro — 

When  was  sorrow  ever  equal  to  mine  ? 

The  Empress  was  a  notable  example  of  the  much  vaunted 
type,  the  fair  Spaniard.  Writers  have  differed  as  to  the  actual 
colour  of  her  hair,  but  it  is  certain  that  she  was  more  blonde 
than  brunette,  and  that  her  superb  eyes  were  "  blue  :  darkly, 
deeply,  beautifully  blue."  Bismarck,  in  speaking  of  the 
Empress,  described  her  hair  as  "  dark  brown,"  but  this  was 
a  mistake.  It  was  brown  with  vivid  reflections  of  gold,  and 
so  pecuhar  was  the  tint  that  the  Parisiennes  did  not  hesitate 


220  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

to  say  that  it  was  impossible  it  could  be  natural.  Eyes  of 
true,  brilliant  blue — such  as  those  of  the  Empress — are  not 
common  in  Spain,  though  I  have  myself  seen  them,  in  connec- 
tion with  hair  of  purest  gold,  and  in  Sevilla.  But  the  green 
eyes  of  the  poets  are  not  at  all  uncommon. 

A  fascinating  gipsy,  a  creation  of  Cervantes,  is  described  as 
having  golden  hair  and  emerald  eyes,  and  several  of  the 
Valera  women  belong  to  the  same  type.  Amongst  the  gipsies 
of  Triana  green  eyes  are  frequently  to  be  seen,  and  they  are 
amazingly  effective  because  of  their  contrast  with  the  bronze 
skin  and  the  unfathomable  expression. 

As  a  rule,  the  one  great  physical  fault  of  the  Spanish  woman 
is  that  she  is  rather  short  and,  after  her  first  youth  has  passed, 
too  stout.  Of  course  there  are  many  exceptions  to  this  rule, 
and  these  exceptions  show  us  how  near  to  the  truth  the  father 
of  Italian  anthropology,  Paolo  Mantegazza,  came  when  he 
said  :  "  When  an  Andalusian  woman  attains  the  stately  height 
of  an  Englishwoman,  and  when  an  Englishwoman  has  small 
hands  and  feet,  they  are  both  divine,  the  two  highest  forms 
of  life,  the  most  splendid  creatures  in  the  human  world." 

In  my  chapter  on  Literature  I  have  spoken  of  what  has 
been  called  "  the  Valera  type  "  as  the  "  eternal  woman." 
It  is  Spanish,  but  then  it  is  also  cosmopolitan  :  and  this  because 
it  embraces  nearly  all  the  finest  feminine  qualities  it  is  possible 
to  imagine.  There  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  physical  and 
mental  charms  of  the  aristocratic  Spanish  woman :  the 
mondaine  of  Madrid,  of  Biarritz,  of  Paris,  and  of  London. 
She  is,  almost  always,  an  excellent  linguist,  and,  curiously 
enough,  she  nearly  always  speaks  English  more  perfectly  than 
any  other  foreign  language.  Of  course,  all  the  society  women 
of  Spain  speak  French  quite  fluently,  but,  as  a  rule,  an 
attentive  listener  can  detect  a  slight  accent,  while  in  speaking 
English  this  suspicion  of  accent  is  frequently  absent.  I  know 
many  Spaniards  who  speak  English  absolutely  faultlessly  : 
in  fact,  I  have  more  than  once  mistaken  a  Spaniard  for  an 
Englishman,  and  this  after  some  conversation.     Many  of  the 


The  Spanish  221 

men,  especially  the  officers,  look  like  Englishmen  of  the  best 
type  :  they  are  tall  and  clean-limbed,  and  they  wear  their 
clothes  with  a  certain  ease  which  at  once  suggests  the  club- 
man of  Pall  Mall.  I  have  never  noticed  this  peculiarity  in 
connection  with  Frenchmen,  though  the  latter  place  immense 
faith  in  London  tailors,  and  many  of  them  even  go  so  far  as 
to  send  their  shirts  and  collars  to  England  to  be  washed  ! 

In  all  the  better-class  families  in  Spain  it  is  the  custom  to 
have  French  and  English  nurses  and  governesses,  and  it  is 
not  an  unusual  thing  to  find  little  children  speaking  English  or 
French  more  easily  and  fluently  than  their  own  native  language. 

Very  much  has  been  said  of  a  sarcastic  nature  and  by 
Spaniards  themselves  on  the  subject  of  Progress  of  Women 
in  the  Peninsula.  I  hardly  dare  to  do  more  than  touch  on 
this  subject  because  my  own  personal  views  are  hopelessly 
old-fashioned,  and  I  see  so  many  immensely  important  things 
for  women  to  do  at  home  that  I  do  not  see  how  they  can  go 
far  outside  the  home,  without  serious  injury  to  vital  interests. 
It  may  be  that  Spanish  women  have  not,  legally,  as  many 
"  rights  "  as  women  of  other  nations,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
they  have  rights  of  another  kind.  No  one  can  realise  the 
position  of  the  mother  in  Spain  without  seeing  that  the  women 
must  understand  very  well  how  to  hold  their  own.  The 
Spanish  mother  is  an  empress  in  her  own  home  :  and  she 
retains  her  sway  over  her  sons  long  after  they  have  cut 
themselves  adrift  from  the  parent  root  and  have  set  up  house 
for  themselves.  It  often  and  often  happens  that  the  mother, 
in  her  old  age,  takes  precedence  of  the  wife  ;  her  wishes  and 
requirements  are  considered  first.  And  this,  though  not 
always  quite  pleasant  for  the  wife,  is  just  as  it  should  be. 
The  mamita  has  given  up  the  days  of  her  youth  and  strength 
to  the  care  and  culture  of  her  children,  and  if  she  reaps  her 
reward — as  most  surely  she  does  in  Spain — it  is  no  more 
than  her  due. 

In  the  humble  walks  of  life  it  is  quite  a  common  thing  for 
the  old  father  and  mother  to  live  with  the  married  son  who 


^ 


222  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

is  best  able  to  support  them,  and  this  arrangement,  to  any 

Spaniard,  seems  only  natural  and  what  was  to  be  expected. 

Of  the  Spanish  beggar  very  much  has  been  written,  and 

certainly  he  is  a  troublesome  person,  when  encountered,  but 

the  Poor  Laws  are  improving  year  by  year, 

Beeear  ^"^  °"^  ^^"  ^°^  ^^^^^  most  of  the  Andalusian 

cities  without  fear  of  annoyance  from  these 
insistent  followers.  In  Sevilla  begging  is  forbidden,  except 
on  certain  days,  and  a  law  of  the  same  kind  obtains  at  Granada. 
But  then  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Spanish  beggar  is 
a  thing  apart  from  his  fellows.  He  honestly  and  genuinely 
thinks  he  has  a  perfect  right  to  beg,  and  that  you  do  no  more 
than  your  right  when  you  give.  In  these  circumstances 
begging  becomes  an  honourable  profession,  and  those  who 
follow  it  expect  to  be  treated  with  proper  respect.  It  is  an 
insult  to  a  Spanish  beggar  to  pass  him  by  with  a  haughty 
gesture,  or  even  without  a  word  of  explanation,  if  you  do  not 
feel  disposed  to  give.  You  must  pause  a  second  and  say, 
"  Perdoneme  usted,"  or  "  Perdone  usted  por  el  amor  de  Dios," 
which  means  that  you  are  asking  him,  m  the  most  polite 
form,  to  excuse  you.  And  in  any  ordinary  case  the  beggar 
will  smile  and  pass  on. 

I  have  already  said  that  Spain  is  the  one  truly  democratic 
country  in  the  world,  and  the  more  one  studies  the  thoughts, 
ideas,  and  ideals  of  the  humbler  classes  the  more  this  fact 
becomes  evident.  It  is  absolutely  true  that  your  butcher 
and  your  baker,  your  domestic  servant  and  your  coachman, 
your  railway  porter  and  your  hotel  waiter,  all  think  and  feel 
themselves  to  be  your  equal.  They  do  not  insist  on  the 
fact,  if  you,  by  look  or  act,  do  not  try  to  show  your  superiority, 
but,  honestly,  they  feel  that  they  are  your  equal.  They  are 
not  so  rich,  but  then  riches  do  not  place  people  on  pinnacles 
in  Spain.  They  have  to  work  while  you  are  free  to  play, 
but  that  is  just  an  accident,  and  they  see  no  more  shame  in 
their  work  than  in  your  play.  They  do  their  part.  And 
more  often  than  not  they  do  it  very  well,  if  entirely  in  their 


The  Spanish  223 

own  way.     And  since  they  do  what  is  expected  of  them  they 
look  to  you  to  follow  suit,  and  to  do  it  poUtely  and  graciously. 

Just  at  first  all  this  is  very  disconcerting.  One  finds  oneself 
perpetually  making  mental  notes  of  interrogation  !  The 
driver  of  your  hired  carriage  will,  if  it  seems  to  him  that 
you  are  agreeable,  enter  thoroughly  into  your  affairs  :  he  will 
ask  5^ou  questions  and  will  give  excellent  advice.  And 
frequently  in  the  shops  the  same  thing  happens.  In  Andalusia 
it  will  happen,  nine  times  in  ten,  that  the  young  man  behind 
the  counter  will  be  smoking  a  cigarette  when  he  comes  forward 
to  attend  you.  And  while  you  are  delicately  insinuating 
that  you  would  be  pleased  to  see  a  ribbon  of  a  special  colour 
or  a  certain  class  of  silk  he  will,  probably,  ask  you  where 
you  are  staying  and  how  you  are  enjoying  yourself,  and  how 
long  a  visit  you  intend  making.  And  if  it  be  in  your  nature 
to  be  muy  simpatica,  he  will  perhaps  give  you  some  notes 
on  a  coming  bull-fight,  or  suggest  to  you  the  most  agreeable 
theatre  in  which  to  spend  an  evening.  And  all  this  without 
the  faintest  suspicion  that  in  England  the  same  thing  would 
be  regarded  as  impossible.  He  is  not  impertinent,  and  he 
does  not  take  a  liberty  because  his  motive  is  of  the  best.  You 
are  a  stranger,  therefore  you  must  be  made  to  feel  at  home  ; 
you  are  a  friend,  therefore  you  must  be  greeted  with  pleasant 
words.  He  is  selling,  and  you  are  buying.  Why  should  it 
be  less  dignified  to  sell  than  to  buy  ?  And  in  Spain  one  realises 
that  there  is  very  much  to  be  said  for  this  point  of  view, 
because  the  Spaniards  are  naturally  polite.  And  because  of 
the  utter  absence  of  "  push  "  or  of  vulgarity  or  pretension, 
the  position  seems  perfectly  natural,  and — if  you  yourself 
know  how  to  take  it — agreeable. 

It  is  impossible  to  discuss  Spain  Vv'ithout  bringing  up  the 

evergreen  manana  question  :    the  everlasting  "  to-morrow  " 

of  which  we  have  heard  so  much  and  which 

The  Manana     j^^g  driven  so  many  innocent  individuals  to 
Question.  ,  c        -,  ■  ^  r- 

the  very  gate  of  a  lunatic  asylum.      Some 

witty  writer  has  stated  that  an  EngUshman  of  business,  in 


224  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

Madrid,  once  compared  his  feelings  with  those  of  "  a  cat  in 

hell  without  claws,"  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand  the 

comparison,  for  the  ways  of  Spain  are  not  those  of  England, 

much  less  those  of  America.     Personal  experiences  tell  me 

that  the  manana  question  has  been  done  to  death,  but  still, 

even  with  the  best  of  luck,  and  in  the  best  circumstances, 

it  is  not  easy  to  get  the  average  Spaniard  to  do  to-day  what 

can  be  put  off  until  to-morrow,  or  the  next  day,  or  next  week  ! 

Of  course,  this  peculiarity  is  at  times  very  inconvenient, 

but  one  must  never  forget  that  countries,  like  individuals, 

have  the  faults  of  their  qualities.     If  the  Spaniard  does  not 

hurry  neither  does  he  hustle.     If  he  does  not  exert  himself 

strenuously  to  make  money,  neither  does  he  consider  the 

making  of  money  the  most  desirable  occupation  of  life.     The 

English  and  American  nations  are  notable  for  their  business 

qualities  :   they  know  how  to  make  money  and  how  to  spend 

it,  but  perhaps  in  the  race  for  wealth  and  power  they  miss 

something,    and    a    thing   of   value,    which    belongs   to   the 

Spaniard  ?     In  this  connection  I  cannot  resist  the  temptation 

to  give  once  again  a  quotation  from  Havelock  Ellis.     In  his 

"  Soul  of  Spain,"  at  the  end  of  his  exquisite  chapter  on 

Montserrat,  he  says — 

The  ascetic  temperament  of  the  Spaniard  renders  few  things  neces- 
sary, while  his  individuahsm  makes  it  easy  for  him,  in  no  unkindly 
spirit,  to  leave  the  stranger  alone.  I  cannot  remember  that  any  one 
during  the  whole  of  my  stay  made  any  attempt  to  hamper  my  move- 
ments, to  offer  his  services  or  his  wares,  or  to  demand  any  gratuity. 
There  are  guides,  indeed,  but  they  do  not  proffer  their  services,  and 
there  is  a  little  bureau  where  post  cards  are  sold,  but  it  is  nearly  always 
closed.  One  reflected  on  all  that  would  be  seen  here  if  some  evil  fate 
had  placed  Our  Lady  of  Montserrat's  Shrine  in  one's  ov\ti  country — of 
the  huge  and  gaudy  hotels,  with  their  liveried  flunkies,  of  the  tea- 
gardens  which  would  replace  the  cross  on  the  Mirador,  of  the  innumer- 
able shops  and  booths  where  the  stranger  would  be  pestered  to  buy 
altogether  unnecessary  articles,  of  the  gigantic  advertisements  of 
whiskies  and  liver-pills  which  would  defile  every  exquisite  point  of 
rock.  As  one  thinks  of  these  things  one  realises  Iiow  far  we  have  yet 
to  travel  before  we  attain  to  the  Spaniard's  insight  into  the  art  of  living, 
his  fine  parsimony  in  life,  lest  for  life's  sake  he  should  lose  the  causes 
for  living,  his  due  subordination  of  dull  material  claims  to  the  larger 
spiritual  claims  of  joy  and  freedom. 


The  Spanish  225 

In  Spain  the  House  of  "  Our  Father  " — the  House  of  God — 

is  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word  the  home  of  the  people.     All 

over  the  Peninsula  this  may  be  seen.     In  San 

The  House  of   Sebastian,    the    centre    of    fashion,    as    in 

our  Father.        .      ,  ,      .  ■,  ■     ^       ,    ~  i  •     ^    i-   •  j 

Andalusia  and  m  Cataluna  and  in  Cralicia  and 

Madrid.  The  people,  even  the  very  poorest  and  most 
wretched,  enter  the  House  of  God  as  they  would  enter  their 
own  home.  There  they  rest :  there  they,  very  often,  and 
in  a  dark  comer,  eat ;  there  the  women  sit  tranquilly,  with 
the  baby  at  the  breast.  And  there  they  kneel  and  pray,  as 
naturally  as  a  child  prays  at  the  knee  of  its  mother. 

I  can  imagine  no  more  beautiful  sight  than  one  of  the  great 
dark  churches  of  Spain,  on  a  week  day,  with  its  silent  inhabi- 
tants scattered  about,  here  and  there.  All  perfectly  reverent, 
but  some  so  evidently  taking  an  hour  of  perfect  rest.  And 
then  on  Sunday  morning,  at  a  crowded  Mass — how  exquisite 
is  the  courtesy  shown  from  one  to  the  other,  without  the  least 
regard  for  position  or  station.  I  have,  at  the  Buen  Pastor  of 
San  Sebastian,  frequently  seen  women  belonging  to  the  Court 
circles  kneeling  side  by  side  with  poor  old  beggar  women  in 
rags,  and  if  seats  are  scarce,  because  of  the  vast  numbers, 
the  poorest  woman  will,  quite  naturally,  offer  her  Prie  Dieu 
to  the  richest.  And  it  will  be  accepted  as  naturally  as  it  is 
offered. 

The  spirit  of  true  and  most  admirable  democracy  is  more 
noticeable  in  the  churches  of  Spain  than  elsewhere,  and  is 
not  this  as  it  should  be  ?  Is  it  not  a  beautiful  idea  that  Our 
Father's  House  should  be  the  home  of  all — without  any 
distinction  of  persons,  in  thought  or  in  action  ? 

The  charm  of  the  Spanish  patio,  or  open  court,  is  irresistible  ! 

In  Andalusia  these  courts  are  often  very  large  and  beautiful, 

as  will  be   clearly  seen  in   the   photograph 

^^he^pSS."^   of  one  which  belongs  to  a  house  in  Sevilla. 

The  house  is  built  round  the  fatio,  in  a  square, 

and  the  open  court,  which  is  always  decorated  with  palms  and 

splendid  foliage  plants  and  flowers,  serves  as  a  cool  reception 


226  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

room  in  summer.  In  the  photograph  may  be  seen,  at  the 
extreme  right,  the  handsome  stone  staircase  which  leads  to  the 
house  proper,  for  the  ground-floor  rooms  are  not  often 
occupied  by  members  of  the  family,  except  in  the  hot  summer 
months. 

Opening  on  to  the  street  there  is  always  a  large  gate  of 
massive  iron,  and  some  of  these  gates  are  exquisitely  wrought 
and  of  great  value.  Spain  has  always  been  famous  for  its 
wrought-iron  work,  and,  at  the  present  day,  very  beautiful 
gates  and  screens  are  made  at  Madrid  and  in  other  parts  of 
the  country. 

Latch-keys  are — so  far  as  I  know — an  unheard-of  luxury 
in  Andalusia  !  To  enter  the  house  at  all  it  is  necessary  to 
ring  the  great  bell  at  the  outer  gate,  and  then  to  wait  until 
someone  inspects  you  from  above.  When  you  have  satis- 
factorily given  a  reason  why  you  should  enter  the  gate  opens 
in  a  mysterious  way,  and  you  find  yourself  in  the  patio. 

In  southern  Spain  the  houses  are  built — in  some  ways — on 
very  practical  lines.  You  have  the  lovely  cool  patio  in  which 
to  sit  in  summer,  and  you  have  the  flat  roof,  which  catches 
every  ray  of  sunshine,  on  which  to  sit  in  winter  !  And  the 
flat  roofs,  as  the  patios,  are  made  gay  with  flowers  and  foliage 
plants. 


CHAPTER   XII 

FIESTAS — RELIGIOUS  AND   SECULAR 

The  most  interesting  Fiestas  of  Spain  are  those  of  Sevilla, 
in  spring.  There  are  processions  and  Feriqs  of  a  similar  kind 
in  other  cities,  but  the  Holy  Week  in  Sevilla 
Fiestas.  remains  a  thing  apart.  It  is  unique  in  the 
entire  world.  And  to  those  who  contemplate 
spending  some  months  in  the  south  of  Spain  I  offer  the 
following  suggestions.  Spend  a  week  or  ten  days  at  Sevilla 
in  the  Carnival  season,  for  in  this  way  you  will  have  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  the  seises  dance  at  the  Cathedral,  and 
also  of  seeing  Sevilla,  with  its  many  interesting  monuments, 
quietly.  Then — if  you  are  in  search  of  sunshine — spend  a 
few  weeks  at  Malaga  and  return  to  Sevilla  via  Granada  and 
Cordova,  getting  back  in  good  time  for  the  Holy  Week.  In 
some  such  way  as  this  Andalusia  may  be  seen  at  its  best, 
and  I  have  given  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  book  some  practical 
information  about  the  kilometric  system  of  travelling,  which 
win  probably  be  found  useful. 

I  have  already  described  several  of  the  picturesque  costumes 
worn  by  Spanish  women,  on  special  occasions,  but  it  remains 
to  be  recorded  that  they  never  look  to  greater  advantage 
than  during  the  Holy  Week.  For  this  solemn  season  the 
regulation  dress,  out  of  doors,  is  a  robe  of  black  silk,  black 
satin  or  black  gauze  ;  with  a  black  lace  mantilla  carefully 
arranged  over  the  head  and  shoulders.  The  hair  is  dressed 
rather  high  and  the  mantilla  is  supported  by  a  comb  and  by 
clusters  of  crimson  carnations  :  the  latter  being  placed  close 
to  the  front,  at  one  side.  The  sleeves  of  these  black  dresses 
are  almost  always  elbow  length,  and  long  white  suede  or  kid 
gloves  are  worn.  Than  this  costume  nothing  could  be  more 
effective. 


228  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

It  is,  in  fact,  perfectly  bewitching,  for  Andalusian  women 
almost  always  look  their  best  in  black.  It  is  easy  to  judge 
how  much  better  they  look  in  the  black  mantilla  than  in  the 
white,  for  on  Easter  Day,  at  the  great  bull-fight,  the  latter 
is  always  worn.  Of  course  the  white,  or  ivory  tinted,  mantilla 
is  infinitely  graceful  and  becoming,  but  there  is  a  subtle 
fascination  attached  to  the  head-dress  of  black  silk  lace  which 
cannot  be  overlooked. 

The  first  of  the  Holy  Week  ceremonies  is  the  blessing  of 
the  palms,  at  the  Cathedral,  on  Palm  Sunday.  This  is  a 
picturesque  and  interesting  sight,  for  the  procession,  composed 
of  very  many  persons  carrying  large  palms,  leaves  the 
church  by  the  west  door  and  then  re-enters,  after  knocking 
at  the  locked  door,  by  the  Puerta  de  los  Palos. 

And  in  connection  with  the  ceremonies  of  Palm  Sunday 
it  is  worth  while  to  pause  a  moment,  to  consider  where  and 
how  such  a  vast  number  of  palm  leaves  are  prepared. 

One  of  the  most  notable  Palm  Groves  in  Spain  is  that  of 
Elche,  a  little  oriental  town  on  the  borders  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean, close  to  Alicante.     Many  of  the  palm 

The  Palm       trees  at  Elche  are  seventy  and  eighty  feet 
Groves.  -'  o     j 

high,  and  in  looking  at  the  marvellous  groves 

of  these  huge  trees  it  seems  impossible  to  realise  that  one  is 

not  in  the  very  heart  of  Africa. 

Picture   to  yourself  a  grove  of  giant  date  palms  which 

average  seventy  feet  in  height  and  which  number  115,000 

or  more.     The  sight  is  a  wonderful  one,  and  no  visitor  to 

Murcia  or  to  Valencia  should  miss  it.     The  date  palm  requires 

very  careful  cultivation,  and  on  this  subject  Baedeker  gives 

some  valuable  and  interesting  information.     He  says — 

The  male  palms  blossom  in  May  and  their  pollen  is  then  sprinkled 
by  the  husbandmen  over  the  female  palms.  The  latter  bear  their 
fruit  every  other  year,  and  the  average  crop  is  worth  about  350,000 
pesetas,  each  tree  producing  75  lbs.  of  dates.  The  dates  ripen  between 
November  and  the  following  spring,  and  are  much  inferior  to  those  of  the 
oases  of  the  Sahara.  The  leaves  of  the  male  palms  and  of  the  barren 
female  palms  are  also  of  market  value,  as  they  are  cut  at  Easter,  made 
up  into  bundles,  blessed  by  the  priests,  and  sold  to  the  pious  throughout 


Fiestas — Religious  and  Secular  229 

Spain,  who  attach  them  to  their  houses  as  a  safeguard  against  lightning. 
To  prepare  them  for  this  use,  the  leaves  are  bleached  on  the  trees  by 
being  tightly  bound  up.  A  tree  can  stand  this  operation  once  in  four 
years,  and  the  annual  number  so  treated  is  about  8,000,  each  tree 
yielding  about  ten  bundles. 

The  hortolano  climbs  the  branchless  trees  by  means  of  a  rope  passed 
round  his  waist,  while  he  presses  his  feet  against  the  trunk 

All  during  Holy  Week  interest  is  centred  on  the  splendid 

processions  of  the  various  brotherhoods — or   cofradias.     All 

these   processions   are   important,  but   some 

The  Processions,  very  much  more  so  than  others,  because  of 

the  special  value  of  some  of  the  images.     A 

procession — or  faso — consists  of  masked  members   of  the 

brotherhood,  in  curious  costumes  which   I  shall  presently 

describe,  of  gendarmes — in  some  cases  of  mounted  soldiers — 

of  musicians  and  of  other  persons,  who  vary  according  to  the 

particular  procession.     In  the  illustration  may  be  seen   a 

cofradia  standing   still   in  a  street.       In  the  front  are  the 

Nazarenos,  or  masked  brothers.     All  wear  long  and  shapeless 

garments  with  high-peaked  head-dresses,  but  the  colour  and 

material  of  these  garments  differ  considerably.     Some  of  the 

dresses  are  purple,  some  black,  and  some  white,  and  so  on. 

If  you  look  carefully  at  this  picture  you  will  see,  at  either 
side,  men  standing  with  sacks  over  their  heads.  These  are 
the  gallegos,  or  the  men  who  have  to  bear  the  immensely 
heavy  paso  on  their  bent  shoulders.  A  large  number  of  these 
men  are  required  for  each  procession,  and  their  work  is 
exceedingly  arduous  :  they  are  hidden  from  sight  by  curtains 
which  hang  at  either  side  of  the  paso.  In  the  picture  I  am 
now  describing  a  number  of  life-sized  figures,  representing 
the  Last  Supper,  are  seated  round  a  table,  and  these  figures 
are  surrounded  by  a  vast  number  of  lighted  candles. 

All  the  pasos  are  different,  and  some  of  them  are  of  great 
artistic  value.  Some  of  the  figures  exhibited  during  the 
Holy  Week  at  Sevilla  are  the  work  of  Martinez  Montanes, 
the  famous  Sevillan  sculptor  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Montaiies  was  a  master  of  mediaeval  polychrome  sculpture, 

l6— (2399) 


230  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

and  many  of  his  figures  are  treasured  in  the  churches 
of  Spain. 

Very  remarkable  figures  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  are  to  be 
found  amongst  the  pasos  of  the  Holy  Week,  notably  "  Our 
Lady  of  Victory,"  which  belongs  to  the  Chapel  of  the  cigarette 
girls.  The  robes  of  this  image  are  magnificent,  and  so  are  the 
jewels. 

Each  cofradia  makes  a  pilgrimage  from  its  own  church  to 
the  Cathedral,  and  back  ;  and  so  heavy  are  the  pasos  that 
frequently  this  little  pilgrimage  occupies  from  eight  to  ten 
hours,  or  even  more.  Each  procession  passes  in  front  of  the 
Ayuntamiento — or  Town  Hall — and  pauses  before  the  stand 
in  which  the  Alcalde  has  taken  up  his  position.  They  then 
slowly  progress  onward  towards  the  Cathedral. 

Although  the  processions  of  the  afternoons  are  the  more 
gorgeous,  those  of  the  early  morning — de  madrugada — are  by 
far  the  most  interesting. 

There  is  something  weirdly  fascinating  about  the  solemn 
beat  of  the  drums — which  accompany  all  the  pasos — in  the 
silent  hours  of  early  morning,  and  as  the  procession  goes  by 
in  those  mysterious  moments  which  herald  the  dawn,  the 
imagination  is  strangely  excited,  and  it  becomes  easy  to 
understand  the  feelings  of  those  "  penitents "  who  have 
volunteered  to  follow  the  Holy  Images — barefooted  and 
sometimes  even  with  a  great  cross  crushing  in  the  shoulders. 

Each  procession  passes  through  the  Cathedral,  and  it  is 
a  strange  sight  to  see  the  immense  church  lit  up  only  by 
torches  and  by  the  twinkling  lights  of  the  many  candles  which 
surround  each  group  of  figures. 

On  the  Wednesday  and  Thursday  evenings  of  Holy  Week 

the  "  Miserere  "  of  Don  Hilario  Eslava  is  sung  in  the  Cathedral, 

and  the  music,  if  curiously  cheerful,  is  remark- 

^^'Vf  E'slava.^  ' '  ^^^^  ^^^-     Eslava  was  born  in  1807  in  a  small 

village  of  Navarre,  near  Pampeluna,  and  from 

early  childhood  he  revealed  extraordinary  musical   talents. 

He  was  proficient  on  the  piano,  organ  and  violin,  and  was  at 


By  permission  of  the  l-,!i/<i   <■/  the  -  l',_,ui:sular  Post' 

A    "  PASO  " 

HOLY   WEEK    AT    SEVILLA 


Fiestas — Religious  and  Secular  231 

the  same  time  a  notable  composer.  In  1830  he  was  Maestro 
de  Cupula  in  Sevilla,  and  he  afterwards  filled  the  same  post 
in  Madrid,  dying  in  the  year  1878. 

One  of  Eslava's  most  enthusiastic  admirers  was  Rossini, 
who  frequently  said  that  no  one  surpassed  him  in  the  art  of 
arranging  the  vocal  parts  of  an  important  composition. 

Besides  the  "  Miserere,"  which  has  made  him  famous  in 
many  countries,  Eslava  composed  several  dances  for  the 
seises — of  whom  I  shall  speak  a  little  further  on.  The  Eslava 
miisic  is  generally  used  for  the  dances  at  the  Feast  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception. 

Amongst  the  religious  ceremonies  of  Holy  Week,  special 
mention  must  be  made  of  the  "  Rending  of  the  Veil,"  accom- 
panied by  music  representing  thunder,  at  10  a.m.  on  Wednes- 
day. The  Consecration  of  the  Oil,  in  the  presence  of  the 
Cathedral  Chapter,  the  Town  Council,  the  University, 
and  other  important  persons,  early  on  Thursday  morning. 
The  "  Washing  of  the  Feet  "  on  Thursday  afternoon — at 
the  Cathedral.  The  solemn  extinguishing  of  the  candles  in 
the  Tenebrario,  one  by  one,  on  Thursday  night,  during  the 
singing  of  the  "  Miserere,"  and  on  Good  Friday  morning — 
between  8  a.m.  and  9  a.m. — the  Adoration  of  the  Cross  before 
the  High  Altar  and  the  removal  of  the  Host  from  the  "  Monu- 
mento."  This  "  Monumento  "  is  a  wooden  temple,  105  feet 
in  height,  which  is  brilliantly  lighted  up  on  the  night  of 
Thursday  in  Holy  Week.  The  effect  of  this  dazzling  structure 
in  the  midst  of  the  dark  Cathedral  is  very  striking.  On 
Easter  Day  the  High  Mass  in  the  Cathedral  is  magnificent. 

Of  the  many  religious  ceremonies  to  be  witnessed  in  the 

Cathedral  of  SeviUa  none  is  so  supremely  interesting  as  the 

dances,  before  the  High  Altar,  of  the  boys 

The  Seises.      known  as  the  seises.     These  dances  take  place 

every  year  on  the  three  days  of  Carnival :   at 

the  Feast  of  Corpus  Christi,  which  falls  at  the  end  of  May  or 

beginning  of  June,  and  during  the  octave  of  the  Immaculate 

Conception  which  begins  on  December  7th.     The  dances  take 


232  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

place  at  the  foot  of  the  High  Altar  and  are  accompanied  by 
a  stringed  orchestra  and  by  the  organ. 

The  boys — ten  in  number — wear  pages'  costumes  of  the 
period  of  Philip  III,  and  these  costumes  are  made  as  follows  : 
There  is  a  tunic  and  knickerbockers  of  either  blue  or  red 
damask,  with  stripes  of  gold  galon.  Red  is  the  colour  for 
the  carnival  and  Feast  of  Corpus  Christi,  and  blue  for  the 
Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception. 

A  very  curious  feature  of  these  costumes  is  Las  Aletas,  or 

wings,  which  are  made  of  the  same  stuff  as  the  rest  of  the 

costume,  and  which  hang  from  the  shoulders, 

oMhe°Sds?s^  at  the  back.  Las  Aletas  were  the  wings  of 
the  original  boys,  who  were  dressed  as  angels. 
Over  the  shoulders  and  across  the  breast  the  boys  wear  scarves 
of  white  taffetas,  which  are  fastened  on  the  shoulder  with  a 
rosette.  They  wear  collars  and  cuffs  of  white  lace  and 
sombreros  a  la  chamberga,  or  hats  which  are  turned  up  directly 
in  front  :  these  hats  are  made  of  blue  or  red  damask,  and  are 
lined  with  white.  This  particular  hat  was  introduced  during 
the  time  when  Don  Hilarion  Eslava  was  Maestro  de  Capilla, 
and  it  is  adorned  with  a  tuft  of  plumes,  blue  or  red  according 
to  season. 

It  is  surprising  that  so  httle  seems  known  about  the  history 
of  these  famous  dances  of  choir  boys  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Se villa,  for  it  is  quite  certain  that  these  dances  have  taken 
place,  at  certain  seasons,  and  in  various  forms,  for  about  800 
years.  They  have  from  time  to  time  aroused  the  violent 
opposition  of  ecclesiastical  and  civil  authorities  who  had, 
in  many  instances,  never  witnessed  the  dances,  and  who  were 
not  in  a  position  to  judge  of  the  truly  devout  spirit  which 
animates  the  whole  ceremony.  Opposition  was  only  overcome 
by  the  insistence  of  the  sevillanos  themselves,  who  were 
determined  to  maintain  an  ancient  and  beautiful  custom. 
A  well-known  Spanish  writer  has  given  the  following  apprecia- 
tion of  the  dance  of  the  seises  and  of  its  real  meaning.  "  It 
is,"  he  says,  "  certain  that  from  time  immemorial  it  has  been 


i  'i^.      -• 


,|     '^•i^; 


Fiestas — Religious  and  Secular  233 

natural  for  the  sevillanos  to  dance,  to  sing,  and  to  play  the 
castanets.  They  perform  these  actions  with  all  the  charm 
and  the  grace  which  God  has  been  pleased  to  bestow  upon 
them  in  abundance,  and  in  my  opinion  it  is  right  that  they 
should  make  an  offering  which  is  purely  Andalusian  to  the 
Almighty.  This  offering  is  the  dance  of  the  seises,  which 
is  essentially  typical  of  the  popular  customs  of  Andalusia." 

The  origin  of  the  dance  may  safely  be  stated  to  have  been 

coincident  with  the  institution  of  the  Festival  of  Corpus 

Christi  in  1264.     For  the  first  solemnization 

°"D^nceV^^  of  this  Festival  the  Chapter  undertook  to 
construct  a  wooden  ark,  representing  the 
Ark  of  the  Testament,  in  which  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
was  placed.  This  Ark  was  carried  in  solemn  procession  and 
was  accompanied  by  priests  and  choir  boys.  Immediately 
preceding  the  Ark  were  eight  boys  dressed  as  angels,  with 
garlands  of  flowers  on  their  heads  :  these  boys  went  before 
the  Ark  singing  and  dancing  as  David  and  the  Israelites  did 
before  the  Ark  of  the  Testament.  An  account  of  this 
historic  Feast  of  Corpus  Christi  is  recorded  in  the  archives 
of  the  city  of  Sevilla,  and  in  the  records  of  each  succeeding 
festival  mention  is  made  of  the  dances  of  the  boys. 

In  1600  the  dances  seem  to  have  been  very  much  what 
they  are  to-day  ;  between  each  pair  of  figures  a  verse  of  a 
hymn  was  sung,  but  no  mention  was  made  of  the  castanets  ; 
nor  has  it  ever  been  ascertained  when  these  were  first  intro- 
duced, though  there  is  a  record  in  the  archives  of  the  purchase 
of  one  pair  of  castanets  in  the  year  1667  ;  it  is  presumed  that 
this  single  pair  was  to  replace  a  pair  which  had  been  lost. 

Some  time  in  the  year  1650  the  boys  entered  the  College  of 
San  Isidoro,  to  which  they  have  belonged  ever  since.  There 
are  at  the  present  day  in  this  college  twenty-two  pupils ;  the 
ten  seises  and  twelve  others.  To  enter  the  college  a  boy — 
of  more  than  eight  years — must  have  a  good  voice  and  must 
know  how  to  read  Latin.  The  seises  receive  their  education 
free,  but  they  have  certain  duties  to  perform  ;   they  officiate 


234  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

as  choir  boys,  etc.  They  are  given  three  lessons  each  week  by 
the  Maestro  de  Capilla,  and  every  Saturday  they  sing  a  Mass 
in  the  Capilla  de  la  Antigua. 

It  is  difficult  to  give,  in  mere  words,  a  clear  idea  of  the 
dances  of  these  boys,  but  perhaps  it  is  not  incorrect  to  say 
that  the  movements  resemble,  somewhat,  those  of  a  quadrille, 
very  solemnly  danced.  Each  figure  has  a  mystic  meaning : 
the  lines  in  which  the  boys  move  forming  some  letter,  or  letters. 
The  most  notable  figures  are  the  simple  and  double  chains,  the 
figure  8  and  the  double  "  S  " — the  latter  figure  standing  for 
the  words  Santisimo  Sacramento. 

The  music  for  these  dances  is  written  in  seguidilla  rhythm  : 
the  boys  at  first  sing  and  dance  at  the  same  time,  accompanied 
by  the  orchestra.  Then  they  cease  singing  and  dance  with 
a  Castanet  accompaniment.  The  castanets  used  by  the  seises 
are  small  and  very  delicately  made  :  they  are  worn  on  the 
middle  finger,  instead  of  on  the  thumb,  as  in  the  case  of 
ordinary  dancers,  and  the  boys  never  raise  their  arms :  nor 
is  there  any  movement  of  the  body.  The  picturesque  little 
figures  move  gracefully  and  most  solemnly  from  point  to  point. 

The  dance  of  the  seises  takes  place,  as  I  have  said,  in  front 
of  the  High  Altar,  and  within  a  space  which  measures  about 
ten  feet  by  seven  feet :  this  space  is  enclosed  by  two  long 
benches  covered  with  crimson  velvet. 

The  annual  Fair  at  Sevilla  attracts  immense  crowds  to  the 

city  and  it  is  made  especially  interesting  for  strangers  by  the 

fact   that   peasants,    frequently   in   national 

Feria  at  Sevilla.  costume,  come  from  all  parts  of  Andalusia  to 

this  annual  gathering.     The  Fair  is  in  reality 

a  great  cattle  show,  at  which  70,000  or  80,000  animals  of 

various  kinds  are  to  be  seen.     But  though  the  people  from 

the  country  may,  and  do,  come  to  the  Feria  to  buy  and  sell 

cattle,   the  Sevillanos — and  specially  the  SeviWanas — make 

the  most  of  an  opportunity  to  entertain  friends  and  to  be 

entertained.     One  of  the  special  features  of  the  Fair  is  the 

street    of   casetas,   or  pretty  temporary    houses,   which    are 


Fiestas — Religious  and  Secular  235 

occupied  during  three  days  by  the  society  people  of  Sevilla. 
These  casetas  are  very  prettily  built  and  contain,  as  a  rule, 
two  rooms  •  they  are  not  enclosed  in  front,  and  it  is  in  these 
salons  which  are  open  to  public  gaze  that  the  various  hostesses 
receive  their  friends.  And  in  the  same  salons,  to  an  accom- 
paniment of  pianos,  guitars,  and  castanets,  the  charming 
Senoritas  dance  endless  sevillanas  and  other  Spanish  dances. 

At  night  the  sigM  is  a  most  charming  one.  All  the  casetas 
are  lighted  up,  and  most  of  them  are  decorated  with  flowers 
and  foliage  plants.  The  fashionable  clubs — such  as  the 
Labradores,  the  Sev.Uano,  the  Centro  Mercantil,  etc. — ^have 
gorgeous  temporary  hcuses  in  which  to  receive  their  guests,  and 
military  and  other  bands  add  greatly  to  the  gaiety  of  the  scene. 

In  other  parts  of  the  Fair  the  women  of  the  people  are  to 
be  seen  in  their  lovely  mantones  de  Manila,  crimson  carnations 
arranged  amongst  the  coils  of  dark  hair,  and  pearly  teeth 
gleaming  white  as  gay  laughter  fills  the  fragrant  air.  For 
in  very  truth  the  air  of  Sevilla,  in  spring,  is  deliciously  fragrant. 
There  are  moments  whtn  the  perfume  of  orange  and  acacia 
blossoms  seems  absolute!/  overpowering  ! 

The  Fair  at  Sevilla  is  alvays  held  on  the  days  of  April  18th, 
19th  and  20th,  and  so  it  rarely  happens  that  visitors  can 
enjoy  the  Holy  Week  and  the  Feria,  without  a  break.  Once 
in  a  way  Easter  falls  late  end  then  an  ideal  fortnight  can  be 
spent  in  the  fascinating  olc  city. 

Vast  numbers  of  persons  visit  Zaragoza  for  the  Fiesta  del 
Pilar  on  October  12th  :  the  mniversary  of  the  day  on  which 
the  Blessed  7irgin  appeared  to  St.  James, 
"pUa?"^^^  when  the  Apstle  was  journeying  through 
Spain.  Zaragoza  itself  is  surrounded  by  a 
halo  of  romance,  for  it  was,  jist  100  years  ago,  the  scene  of 
one  of  the  most  pathetic  sieges  the  world  has  ever  known.  A 
handful  of  brave  men  and  womei..  with  the  aid  of  sixteen  can- 
non and  a  few  old-fashioned  musktts,  defended  the  town  against 
Marshall  Lannes  at  the  head  Oi  an  overwhelming  French 
army.     And  defended  it  for  two  terrible,  merciless  months ! 


236  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

So  frightful  were  the  scenes  connected  with  this  heroic 
defence  that  Lannes  himself  wrote  of  it  to  the  Emperor  : 
"  I  have  never  seen  stubbornness  equal  to  the  defence  of  this 
place.  Women  allow  themselves  to  be  killed  in  front  of  every 
breach.  Every  house  needs  a  separate  assault  In  a  word, 
Sire,  this  is  a  war  which  horrifies." 

And  it  was  in  this  defence  of  home  and  country  that  Maria 
Augustina — the  "  Maid  of  Zaragoza" — won  for  herself  death- 
less fame.     This  brave  daughter  of  Aragon 

of^zlr^^iza      fought  side  by  side  with  her  lover  all  through 

the  siege,  and  when  at  last  he  was  killed  she 

took  the  linstock  from  his  dying  hand  and  continued  to  work 

the  gun  herself.     Byron  has  immortalised  her  glorious  deeds 

in  "  Childe  Harold  "— 

Her  lover  sinks — she  sheds  no  il)-timed  tear  : 

Her  chief  is  slain — she  fills  his  fatal  post  : 

Her  fellows  flee — she  checks  their  base  career  : 

The  foe  retires — she  heads  the  sall/ing  host. 

'WTio  can  appease  like  her  a  lover^  ghost  ? 

Who  can  avenge  so  well  a  leader'*  fall  ? 

What  maid  retrieve  when  man's  flushed  hope  is  lost  ? 

Who  hang  so  fiercely  on  the  flyiig  Gaul, 

Foil'd  by  a  woman's  hand,  befo'e  a  battered  wall  ? 

And  last  year — in  1908,  the  centenary  of  the  Defence  of 
Zaragoza — Queen  Victoria  of  Spain  anveiled  a  beautiful  statue 
of  "  The  Maid  "  by  Benlliure,  whi:h  has  been  placed  in  the 
historic  Plaza  del  Portillo,  in  wiich  she  served  the  gun, 
standing  over  the  dead  body  of  lev  lover. 

Augustina  de  Aragon  died  in  Ceuta  in  the  year  1857,  and 
during  her  life  she  was  beloved  by  all  who  knew  her.  She 
was,  in  many  respects,  the  prototype  of  the  women  of  Valera — 
of  whom  I  have  spoken  in  the  ciiapter  on  Literature.  Brave 
and  strong  of  mind  and  body, Augustina  de  Aragon  was  yet 
whoUy  a  woman.  Her  nature  was  frank  and  noble,  and  her 
love  of  truth  was  proverbial.  And  in  this  famous  "  Maid  " 
we  find  embraced  some  of  theleading  features  of  the  people  of 
Aragon  :  a  people  curious'y  tenacious  of  their  personal 
independence  and  of  great  brce  and  originality  of  character. 


Fiestas — Religious  and  Secular  237 

The  Cathedral  del  Pilar  at  Zaragoza  is  a  large  and  very 
fine  building,  which  has  grown  into  magnificence  on  the  site 
of  the  simple  httle  church  which  originally  held  the  precious 
Jasper  pillar  upon  which  the  Blessed  Virgin  stood  when  she 
appeared  to  St.  James.  This  column  is  placed  on  the  right 
of  the  High  Altar,  which  is  made  of  alabaster,  and  year  after 
year  thousands  and  thousands  of  pilgrims  from  all  over  Europe 
visit  it  on  the  day  of  October  12th, 

The  Pilgrimage  del  Pilar  is  as  notable  as  it  is  picturesque. 
Peasants  in  national  costumes  come  to  Zaragoza,  from  aU 
comers  of  Spain,  and  it  is  a  solemn  sight  when  the  Cathedral 
del  Pilar  is  completely  filled  with  these  devout  pilgrims — all 
reverently  kneeling  before  the  beautiful  sanctuary  which 
contains  the  sacred  column. 

The  Fiesta  of  Corpus  Christi  at  Granada  is  possessed  of 

unique  interest  because  the  woods  and  gardens  of  the  Alhambra 

are    brilliantly   illuminated.     The    numerous 

"  Fiesta  del  ^  ^  trees   growing   in    that    delightful   spot   are 

in  Granada,     adorned  with  a  profusion  of  coloured  electric 

lights,  fastened  to  the  branches  and  imitating 

flowers  and  fruits.     Many  arc  lights  are  placed  in  the  woods, 

and  powerful  reflectors  throw  delicate  tints  on  the  waters  of 

cascades  and  fountains. 

The  Palacio  del  Emperador  and  the  Gate  of  Justice  are 
outlined  with  electric  lights,  and  the  whole  effect  is  that  of 
an  enchanted  palace. 

There  are  at  this  season  fine  concerts  in  the  Palace  of  Carlos 
V,  given  by  the  Symphonic  Orchestra  of  Madrid. 

The  Fiesta  of  Corpus  Christi  at  B^jar — not  far  from  Sala- 
manca— is  a  very  strange  one,  and  to  appreciate  it  one  must 
understand  its  origin.  In  the  year  850  the 
c  "^*^Ch  '^t'  "  ^^^^^®  inhabitants  of  Bejar  were  turned  out 
at  B6jar.  of  their  town  by  the  Moors,  and  for  fifteen 
years  they  were  forced  to  take  refuge  in  the 
mountains.  But  in  the  year  866  they  regained  their  city 
by  a  most  ingenious  strategy.     They  dressed  themselves  in 


238  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

skins  of  animals,  and  in  coverings  of  moss  :  in  this  guise  they 
entered  Bejar  and  so  terrified  were  the  Moors  at  their  frightful 
appearance  that  they  fled  and  left  the  coast  free  ! 

In  commemoration  of  this  remarkable  achievement  it  has 
been  customary,  at  the  Feast  of  Corpus  Christi,  for  two  men 
covered  from  head  to  foot  with  moss  to  carry  the  flag  of  the 
city  at  the  head  of  the  procession. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

CATALUNA  AND  THE  CATALANS 

For  many  years  Spain  has  been  confronted,  within  her  own 

territories,  by  a  problem  far  more  intricate  than  any  question 

of  colonial  or  foreign  policy :    the  problem 

History  of       presented  by  Cataluna  and  the  Catalans.     In 

a  SketchT      ^11  the  turbulent  history  of  Spain  no  such 

heated    discussions   have    raged    round    any 

previous  political  question  ;    nor  has  any  attitude  been  so 

frequently  misunderstood  as  that  of  the  Catalans  themselves. 

To  appreciate  correctly  the  relations  of  the  Catalans  with 
the  rest  of  Spain  it  is  necessary  to  understand  a  little  of  their 
history,  their  national  characteristics,  their  language,  and — 
most  important  of  aU — the  real  aims  and  ideas  of  the  leaders 
of  the  Catalan  movement. 

It  would  be  idle  to  deny  that  all  through  history  there  has 
been  a  marked  want  of  sympathy,  if  not  a  feeling  of  actual 
ill-will,  between  the  inhabitants  of  Cataluiia  and  the  rest  of 
Spain,  the  latter  summed  up  by  the  term  castellanos.  From 
the  earliest  times  the  Catalans  have  been  a  warlike  and 
extremely  independent  race,  determined  at  aU  costs  to 
preserve  their  national  liberty. 

Catalufia  has  been  successively  under  the  dominion  of  the 
Romans,  the  Visigoths,  the  Moors  and  the  Franks.  The  latter 
were  dispossessed  in  the  ninth  century,  and  an  independent 
Condado  de  Barcelona  was  established. 

In  1149  Catalufia  was  united  to  Aragon  by  the  mairiage  of 
Ramon  Berenguer  IV  with  Petronila,  and  in  1469  both 
countries  were  incorporated  with  Castile  by  the  marriage  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  :  Catalufia  received,  however,  a  liberal 
constitution,  and  numerous  fueros  or  privileges. 

The  first  outbreak  with  Castile  occurred  in   1640,  when 


240  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

Philip  IV  imposed  a  heavy  taxation  upon  the  Catalans  to 
aid  him  in  his  wars  against  France.  The  people  rebelled 
against  this,  and  instead  of  helping  the  Spanish  sovereign  they 
rose  unanimously  in  favour  of  France  and  offered  a  long  and 
obstinate  resistance  to  the  castellanos. 

The  rebellion  was  eventually  quelled  and  many  penalties 
were  imposed  by  Phihp  V,  the  bitterest  of  which  was  the 
suppression  of  the  fueros  which  had  so  long 
The  "Fueros."  been  cherished  by  the  people  as  an  ancient 
and  sacred  emblem  of  the  liberty  of  their 
province.  These  fueros  were  publicly  burned  by  the  hang- 
man :  municipal  liberty  was  abolished,  and  the  royal  revenge 
even  went  to  the  length  of  issuing  an  edict  commanding  that 
the  knives  used  by  the  labourers  at  their  meals  should  be 
chained  to  the  tables  as  a  stigma  of  servitude  ! 

Even  now  in  many  old  houses  in  Catalufia  these  tables  with 
the  chained  knives  are  carefully  preserved,  nor  is  popular 
resentment  by  any  means  extinct :  indeed,  it  may  be  said 
that  from  that  date  the  feeling  between  castellanos  and 
Catalans  has  been  one  of  scarcely  concealed  antagonism. 

Until  quite  recently  the  policy  of  the  Spanish  Government 
towards  Catalufia  has  been  singularly  unfortunate  :  everything 
that  might  tend  to  foment  discontent  has  been  done.  For 
instance,  the  most  systematic  attempts  have  been  made  to 
suppress  the  Catalan  language. 

Catalan  writers  have  frequently  been  compelled  to  publish 
their  works  in  the  two  languages,  the  natural  result  of  which 
is  that  the  people  of  Catalufia  cling  more  tenaciously  than 
ever  to  their  mother  tongue,  and,  as  a  rule,  absolutely  refuse 
to  speak  Spanish.  A  little  later  on  I  shall  explain  fully  the 
difference  between  the  two  languages,  but  I  may  here  remark 
that  it  is  quite  erroneous  to  assume  that  Catalan  is  a  dialect. 

In  spite  of  innumerable  misunderstandings  on  the  part  of 
the  State,  no  province  has  been  more  ready  to  help  Spain  in 
time  of  need  than  Catalufia.  In  the  War  of  Independence 
against  the  Napoleonic  invasion,  and  later  in  the  Cuban  war, 


Cataluna  and  the  Catalans  241 

Cataluna  made  heroic  sacrifices  in  the  common  cause,  and 
showed  clearly  that,  although  the  Catalans  had  an  intense 
love  for  their  own  land,  their  traditions  and  their  liberties, 
they  nevertheless  considered  themselves  bound  to  Spain  by 
the  strongest  ties  of  kinship. 

In  speaking  of  this  militant  people — who  are  neither 
wholly  Spanish  nor  wholly  French,  though  displaymg  the 
characteristics  of  both  nations — Mr.  Ellis  says — 

To-day  it  is  the  political  and  administrative  control  of  Madrid 
against  which  the  Catalans  protest.  The  Catalan  question  is  especially 
an  economic  question.  The  Catalans  rebel  against  paying  the  bureau- 
cratic Castilian  heavily  for  services  which  are  very  badly  performed  : 
services  which  they  are  well  aware  they  could  perform  very  much 
better  for  themselves. 

They  have  suffered  seriously  from  the  necessities  of  a  State  centralised 
in  remote  Madrid,  and  they  consider  moreover  that  they  are  entitled 
to  fiscal  autonomy.  Their  commercial  and  industrial  supremacy  leads 
them  to  assign  to  Cataluna  a  more  than  provincial  rank,  and  they 
believe  that  the  restoration  of  Spain  can  best  be  accomplished  with 
the  Catalan  hegemony,  and  increased  home-rule  in  all  the  regions  of 
Spain.  It  is  quite  likely  that  such  a  reform  of  the  national  constitution 
would  lead  to  a  state  of  things  more  suitable  to  the  genius  of  the 
Spanish  character  than  the  present  highly  centralised  system. 

Since  Mr.  Ellis  wrote  these  words  a  large  degree  of  autonomy 
has  been  granted  to  Cataluna  by  Seiior  Maura's  Bill  of  Local 
Administration. 

The  first  point  to  be  settled  with  regard  to  Catalan  is  that 

it  is  a  language  and  not  a  dialect,  or  corruption  of  Spanish, 

as  it  is  frequently  assumed  to  be,  both  abroad 

Lannlage.       ^"^  ^^  Spain.     Of  course,  when  I  state  that 

it  is  a  language  I  mean  that  it  has  as  much 

claim  to  that  title  as  has  Castilian.     I  spoke  in  the  chapter 

on  Literature  about  the  etymological  significance  of  the  word 

language,  and  pointed  out  that  scarcely  any  European  tongue 

can  really  claim  the  title,  since  all,  with  the  exception  of 

Basque,  are  derivations  from  some  older  language. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  Catalan  has  no  connection 
with  Castilian  beyond  their  common  Latin  origin.  The  two 
languages  took  form  concurrently,  and  each  was  enriched  from 


242  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

various  sources  :  Castilian  from  the  Arabic  and  Catalan  from 
the  Provencal,  with  which  it  has  a  marked  affinity,  the 
language  spoken  in  many  parts  of  the  south  of  France  being 
exactly  similar  to  that  spoken  in  Cataluna.  Although  many 
words  are  the  same  as  in  Spanish  the  pronunciation  is  quite 
different. 

Ch  at  the  end  of  a  word  sounds  like  k ;  g  and  /  are 
pronounced  as  in  French  ;  Ig — which  frequently  occurs — has 
the  sound  of  the  Scottish  guttural  ch,  as  puig — pronounced 
puch  ;  X  is  like  sh. 

As  regards  the  beauty  of  the  Catalan  tongue,  opinions  run 
from  one  extreme  to  another ;  many  Spaniards  affirm  that  it 
is  one  of  the  harshest  and  most  unlovely  speeches  imaginable. 
Cervantes,  on  the  contrary,  asserts  that  Catalan  is  a 
"  most  charming  language,  with  which  for  its  sweetness  and 
agreeableness  only  the  Portuguese  can  compete." 

The  Catalans  themselves  cling  to  it  with  the  utmost 
affection,  and  regard  it  as  the  very  soul  of  their  land  ;  the 
institution  of  Catalan  as  the  official  language  of  the  Province 
was  one  of  the  first  rights  claimed  at  the  famous  Assembly 
of  Manresa.  All  students  of  Catalan  literature  are  amazed 
at  its  importance,  and  still  more  surprised  that  it  should  be, 
comparatively,  so  little  known  in  Spain. 

The  poets  are  innumerable  and  the  excellence  of  their  work 
would  do  honour  to  any  language  ;  history,  science  and  art 
are  well  represented,  and  it  is  a  curious  fact  that,  although 
not  more  than  twelve  Catalan  writers  are  really  well  known 
in  Spain,  the  works  of  a  large  number  of  Catalans  have  been 
translated  into  foreign  languages  :  English,  German,  Swedish, 
Hungarian,  Italian,  Russian,  Portuguese,  Proven9al,  and  even 
Latin  !  These  translations  have  been  collected  and  placed 
in  the  Biblioteca  de  Villanueva  y  Geltru  by  its  founder,  Don 
Victor  Balaguer — himself  one  of  the  most  notable  Catalan 
men  of  letters.  Of  the  great  Catalan  writers  three  stand  out 
pre-eminently  :  Ramon  Muntaner,  Ramon  Lull,  and  Ausias 
March. 


Catalufia  and  the  Catalans  243 

The  greatest  Catalan  poet  of  our  time  was  Verdaguer, 
whose  Atlantida  is  one  oi  the  most  beautiful  poems  ever  written. 
There  are  at  present  over  forty  weekly  papers  and  four  daily 
papers  published  in  the  Catalan  language,  and  a  sign  of  good 
omen  for  the  future  is  the  fact  that,  during  the  recent  Royal 
visit  to  Barcelona,  an  important  address  was  read  in  Catalan, 
and  was  received  by  the  King  with  evident  approval. 

In  studying  the  characteristics  of  the  Catalan  race,  as  dis- 
tinct from  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants   of  Spain,  one  must 
give   due  importance  to  the  widely  varied 
Ch  ^^*i°  •  ^-       climatic  conditions  of  the  Spanish  Provinces. 
The  physical  and  mental  dissimilarity  of  the 
northern  and  southern  Spaniards  is  most  extraordinary.     In 
no  other  European  country  are  there  to  be  found  so  many 
apparently  distinct  races  united  in  one  kingdom. 

The  effect  of  climate  upon  the  inhabitants  of  different  regions 
is  too  much  a  matter  of  scientific  speculation  to  be  entered  into 
here,  nevertheless  it  is  obvious  that  the  vast  disparity  between 
the  hot,  balmy  climate  of  Andalusia  and  Castile  and  the  cooler 
atmosphere  of  the  mountainous  northern  provinces  must 
necessarily  influence  the  character  of  the  inhabitants. 

The  Catalans  have  been,  from  the  earliest  times,  a  brave 
and  independent  race,  notably  bold  and  skilful  mariners  and 
excellent  men  of  business.  They  could  not  be  more  accurately 
summed  up  than  in  the  words  of  Victor  Balaguer,  one  of  the 
greatest  men  of  his  era.  "  In  Catalufia,"  he  says,  "  everything 
is  in  perfect  harmony.  The  language,  history,  literature, 
customs,  temperament,  and  character — which  differ  in  every 
respect  from  the  other  provinces  of  Spain,  above  all  in 
Andalusia  and  Castile.  A  certain  unyielding  determination 
of  character  which  has  been  noticed  in  them  does  not  arise 
from  any  racial  pride,  but  rather  from  a  natural  dignity  and 
a  consciousness  of  their  rights.  The  Catalan  admits  equals 
but  not  superiors  ;  he  will  accept  Monarchs  and  Sovereigns 
but  not  lords  and  masters.  Advice  is  distasteful  to  him  and 
correction  intolerable.     He  is  scrupulous  in  the  execution  of 


244  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

his  duties,  but,  a  jealous  guardian  of  his  rights,  he  will  fiercely 
resent  any  attempt  to  undermine  his  independence  or  his 
liberty. 

"  Possessing  these  characteristics,  the  Catalan  is  daring  in 
enterprises  when  he  sees  that  he  can  achieve  ultimate  success. 
Everything  in  his  nature  reveals  practical  good  sense.  His 
poetry  may  have  its  birth  in  the  clouds,  but  it  will  descend 
to  brush  with  its  wings  the  realities  of  everyday  life.  The 
historian  may  have  a  lofty  outlook,  but  he  will  relate  the  most 
trivial  facts  with  a  keen  regard  to  minute  detail.  It  may  be 
said  at  once  that  in  his  wildest  aspirations  the  Catalan  will 
never  indulge  in  an  ideal  that  has  not  something  practical 
about  it.  These  have  been  the  characteristics  of  the  Catalans 
from  time  immemorial,  and  they  have  been  in  no  way  altered 
in  our  days." 

This  conception  of  the  Catalan  character  may  be  taken  as 

being  accurate  in  every  detail,  and  when,  having  studied  it, 

one  considers  for  a  moment  the  most  salient 

Vll  ^f^}^^  characteristics  of  the  Castellano  and  the 
and  the  Andaluz.  -i     , 

Andaluz  it    will   be  seen    at  once  that  the 

gulf    between    north    and  south    is  vast   and    that  mutual 

understanding  could  not  easily  be  arrived  at. 

The  Andaluz  is  a  more  easily  understood  and  popular 
character  than  the  Catalan.  He  is  credited,  not  always  justly, 
with  improvidence  and  laziness ;  he  is  usually  represented 
as  basking  in  the  sun  of  his  delicious  province,  and  of  not 
occupying  himself  overmuch  with  the  welfare  of  his  country. 

The  Catalan  would  be  the  first  to  take  this  rather  conde- 
scending view,  and  to  assert  that  his  own  more  advanced 
civilization  is  in  every  way  preferable  to  the  easy-going  life  of 
the  south.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Andaluz  is  by  no  means 
as  improvident  as  he  is  represented  ;  he  is  satisfied  with  far 
less  than  the  Catalan,  but  his  mode  of  life  is  eminently  suited 
to  the  climate  of  his  province,  in  which  a  strenuous  existence 
would  be  not  only  undesirable  but  impossible. 

In  all  the  southern  provinces  there  is  a  marked  degree  of. 


Cataluna  and  the  Catalans  245 

what  might  be  called,  a  subtle  philosophy  of  life  :  the  southern 
Spaniard  accepts  happiness  and  misfortune,  just  as  they  come, 
with  an  acquiescence  which  is  very  primitive  and  which  is 
no  doubt  one  of  the  many  heritages  received  from  Moorish 
ancestors.  He  does  not  struggle  with  life,  he  accepts  it : 
thankful  when  pleasure  comes  his  way ;  resigned  when  he 
meets  with  sorrow. 

The  Gallego  also  possesses  this  characteristic  to  a  certain 
degree,  but  his  philosophy  is  tinged  with  pessimism.  Neither 
will  ever  attain  the  mental  balance  of  the  Catalan,  whose 
unfailing  application  of  common  sense  to  all  the  problems  of 
existence  is  proverbial. 

It  is  no  easy  matter  to  resume,  in  a  limited  space,  the  ideals 

of  the  various  political  parties  of  Cataluna ;   and  the  task  is 

rendered  more  difficult  by  the  fact  that  the 

Political        ^jj^g  a.nd  ideals  of  the  maiority  of  Catalans — 

Situation  in       ,  ^   .   7       •  ,  J         ■' 

Cataluna.  known  as  Catalamstas — are,  as  a  rule,  mis- 
represented, or  at  best  misunderstood,  by  the 
rest  of  Spain.  One  hears  continually  such  words  as  "  Cata- 
lanism,"  or  "  Regionalism,"  which  amounts  to  the  same 
thing,  "  Anexionismo  "  and  "  Separatismo,"  these  words  being 
used  casually  and  with  very  little  real  comprehension  of  their 
meaning. 

It  may  be  stated  clearly  that  the  hopes  of  the  great  majority 
of  Catalans  are  centred  in  the  political  party  known  as  the 
Caialanistas,  their  theories  being  called  Catalanism.  The  aims 
of  the  two  other  parties  named  I  shall  deal  with  later. 

The  origin  of  Catalanism  was  coincident  with  the  renaissance 
of  the  Catalan  language,  and  the  re-institution — in  1842 — of 
the  famous  Jochs  Florals,  or  Floral  Games  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
The  first  and  most  important  point  is  that  Catalanism  does 
not  deny  the  authority  of  the  State,  nor  does  it  desire  to 
separate  Catalufia  from  the  rest  of  Spain. 

It  considers  that  Spain  is  composed  of  a  number  of  distinct 
nationahties,  each  possessing  marked  individual  character- 
istics, and  therefore  not  to  be  bound  by  an  official  and  legal 

17— (S399) 


246  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

uniformity.  It  considers  that  each  province  should  govern 
itself ;  in  other  words,  that  each  province  should  be  granted 
autonomy. 

The  views  of  the  Catalanistas  were  embodied  at  the  historic 

Assembly  at  Manresa,  in  1892,  and  are  now  known  as  the 

Bases  de  Manresa.     They  are  summed  up  in 

d  M  '  ^^^^.  the  most  complete  form  in  an  article  contri- 
buted to  La  Nacion  of  Buenos  Aires  by  the 
great  republican.  Pi  y  Margall,  a  few  days  before  his  death,  in 
1901.  This  famous  Catalan,  had  he  lived,  would  probably 
have  obtained  complete  autonomy  for  Catalufia.  He  was  a 
man  whose  political  career  revealed  the  most  curious  union 
of  exalted  theories  and  practical  common  sense.  He  was  a 
humanitarian  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word  :  a  disciple  of 
Hegel  and  by  nature  a  poet  and  an  idealist. 

The  following  extracts  from  his  last  political  utterance  will 
give  a  clear  idea  of  Catalanism — 

"  Catalanism,"  he  says,  "  aspires  to  the  autonomy  of 
Catalufia  ;  it  reduces  the  action  of  the  State  to  national  and 
international  interests.  It  leaves  to  the  State  control  of  the 
foDowing  affairs : — Diplomatic  relations  ;  the  making  of  War 
or  the  preservation  of  Peace  ;  the  Army  and  Navy ;  the 
Commerce  of  Spain  ;  the  Postal,  Telegraphic  and  Shipping 
regulations,  etc. 

"  It  limits  the  arbitration  of  the  State  in  the  internal  affairs 
of  Catalufia.  It  wishes  Catalufia  to  have  the  control  of  its 
own  Civil,  Penal,  Mercantile,  Administrative  and  Legal 
Legislation.  It  requires  that  Catalan  should  be  the  official 
language.  It  demands  that  aU  persons  holding  official  posts 
should  be  Catalans  by  birth  or  by  naturalization,  and  that 
their  Ecclesiastics  should  be  favoured  with  dignities  and 
prebends.  It  does  not  admit  compulsory  military  service,  but 
desires  to  contribute  a  stated  sum  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
Army  and  Navy. 

"  The  Interior  Legislation  is  to  be  vested  in  a  Cortes  elected 
by  all  the  heads  of  families,  which  Cortes  must  assemble 


Catalufia  and  the  Catalans  247 

yearly.  The  executive  committee  is  to  consist  of  five  or  six 
functionaries  elected  by  the  Cortes  and  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  different  administrative  departments.  The  Legal  Admin- 
istration is  to  be  vested  in  a  Supreme  Tribunal,  which  will 
pronounce  judgment  in  all  judicial  matters  within  the 
Province.  This,  briefly,  is  the  resume  of  the  ambitions  of  the 
Catalans,  who  desire  autonomy  not  only  for  themselves  but 
for  the  other  provinces,  and  who  protest  energetically  against 
any  idea  of  separation  from  the  rest  of  Spain." 

I  have  given  here  only  the  outline  of  this  remarkable  article, 
of  Pi  y  Margall,  whose  ideals  v\dth  regard  to  Spain  may  be 
briefly  said  to  be  Unity  but  not  Uniformity  ! 

These  two  pohtical  parties  are  not  of  very  great  importance  : 

they  voice  the  theories  of  persons  of  extreme  opinions  and 

their  ideas  are  indignantly  repudiated  by  the 

^!Cexioi!i?smo"'^  majority  of  intelligent  Catalans.     Separatismo 

means  a  complete  separation  from  Spain,  and 

Anexionismo  means  annexation  to  France.     The  Separatist 

party  has  done  incalculable  harm  to  the  Catalan  cause,  owing 

to  the  fact  that  their  extreme  views  are  confounded  with  those 

of  the  Catalanists,  who  have  no  desire  at  all  to  separate  from 

Spain. 

The  Separatists  cannot  now  be  regarded  as  a  dangerous 
element,  but  they  might  easily  have  become  dangerous  had 
not  the  present  Government  wisely  conciliated  the  Catalanists 
by  granting  them  a  measure  of  autonomy :  if  this  had  been 
refused  the  Catalanists  would  have  been  exasperated  and 
might,  possibly,  have  joined  hands  with  the  Separatists,  with 
whose  ideas  they  have  now  no  sympathy. 

The  Annexionists  do  not  really  represent  the  opinions  of  any 
important  group  of  Catalans.  Their  ideas  are  those  of  isolated 
individuals,  notably  of  Catalans  living  in  France.  Without 
doubt  the  French  Constitution  has  found  many  admirers  in 
Catalufia,  which  has  always  inclined  towards  republicanism, 
but  the  idea  of  annexation  to  France  is  repugnant  to  all 
patriotic  Catalans. 


248  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

Sefior  Vinardell,  in  his  Discourses  at  the  Sorbonne,  says 
that  the  Annexionists  who  desire  to  abandon  Spain  and  join 
France — always  supposing  such  an  absurdity  to  be  possible — 
remind  him  of  a  person  who,  in  his  desire  to  get  rid  of  an 
annoying  corn,  has  recourse  to  the  expedient  of  cutting  off  his 
leg  !  By  such  an  annexation  Catalufia  would  lose  everything 
and  gain  nothing. 

It  is,  beyond  question,  the  most  important  province  of 
Spain  :  by  its  population,  its  great  industries,  its  culture, 
and  the  beauty  of  its  cities.  Annexed  to  France  it  would  be 
eclipsed  by  neighbouring  provinces  quite  as  important  : 
Barcelona  would  have  to  yield  precedence  to  Marseilles,  which, 
on  account  of  its  situation,  will  always  remain  one  of  the 
greatest  maritime  cities  in  the  world. 

This  annexation  would  also  sound  the  death-knell  of  the 
Catalan  language,  which  has  been  so  carefully  nurtured  ;  in 
fact,  all  the  illusions  of  the  annexionists  would  be  shattered, 
sooner  or  later,  and  there  would  only  remain  the  bitter  regret 
that  Cataluna  had  left  the  common  hearth  of  the  great  Spanish 
Family  to  become  part  of  a  foreign  land. 

A  great  number  of  Spaniards  speak,  in  a  general  sort  of  way, 
about  the  value  and  necessity  of  Unity  as  opposed  to  the 
Catalan  demands,  not  at  all  realising  that  absolute  unity  has 
never  existed  in  Spain  ;  nor  could  it  ever  exist.  The  very 
history  of  Spain  is  composed  of  a  conglomeration  of  histories 
of  separate  kingdoms  and  peoples. 

Nor  is  unity  of  language  possible  where  so  many  different 
races  exist.  Besides  the  Castilian  and  Catalan  tongues  there 
are  Basque,  the  origin  of  which  is  unknown,  Asturian  and 
Gallego.  All  these  separate  entities  cannot  be  regarded  as 
a  uniform  kingdom,  to  be  indiscriminately  governed  by  iden- 
tical laws  ;  probably  nothing  more  practical  has  ever  been 
suggested  in  Spain  than  the  Catalan  conception  of  the  word 
"  Unity  " — which  precludes  the  petrifying  uniformity  of  past 
systems  of  government. 

I   cannot  leave   the   subject   of  Catalan  politics  without 


Catalufia  and  the  Catalans  249 

speaking  of  the  work  of  Victor  Balaguer,  whose  death  deprived 

Catalufia  of  one  of  her  most  ardent  champions.     It  has  been  a 

remarkable  fact  in  the  history  of  Spain  that 

B  1  eu'^r        scarcely  any  of  her  great  patriots  have  received 

the  recognition   due   to   them,   during  their 

lifetime.     General  Prim — himself  a  Catalan — spent  his  whole 

life  in  untiring  and  disinterested  labour  for  the  good  of  Spain  ; 

for  months  previous  to  his  assassination  he  was  denounced, 

insulted  and  threatened  by  the  very  people  whom  he  was 

seeking  to  benefit.     WTien  he  died,  in  December,  1870,  there 

expired,  in  the  words  of  Hume,  "  the  only  really  great  Spaniard 

that  the  century  had  produced." 

Victor  Balaguer  was  destined  to  afford  another  example  of 
the  curious  want  of  appreciation,  to  say  the  least,  shown  by 
the  Spaniards  to  their  famous  men.  Balaguer  was  a  man 
whose  genius  could  find  scope  in  every  direction  ;  he  was 
notable  as  a  historian,  novelist,  dramatic  author,  poet  and 
statesman.  Perhaps  his  qualities  were  more  of  the  poet 
than  of  the  politician.  He  was  far  too  romantic  and  chivalrous 
to  ultimately  succeed  in  the  political  arena,  which  frequently 
demands  the  very  reverse  of  these  qualities. 

During  his  political  career  he  filled  in  turn  the  ofRce  of 
Deputy,  Senator,  Minister  of  Agriculture,  Colonial  Minister, 
Vice-President  of  the  Congress,  President  of  the  Council  of 
State,  and  innumerable  other  offices.  He  was  an  eloquent  and 
impassioned  orator  and  defended  conscientiously  his  ideal  of 
a  great  democratic  Spain. 

It  was  in  his  position  as  the  champion  of  the  democratic 
party  that  so  much  caliminy  and  injustice  was  heaped  upon 
him  by  persons  incapable  of  understanding  his  greatness  of 
heart.  In  Catalufia,  his  o\^ti  country,  for  which  he  had  worked 
so  untiringly,  a  bitter  press  campaign  was  organised  against 
him  ;  this  was,  ultimately,  the  cause  of  his  withdrawal  from 
political  life. 

Before  his  final  retirement  he  made  a  magnificent  oration, 
in  which  he  referred  to  his  enemies  as  traitors,  who,  having 


250  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

clasped  his  hand  in  friendship,  broken  his  bread  and  worked 
at  his  side,  now  raised  their  hands  against  him.  This  discourse 
made  an  immense  impression  throughout  Spain,  but  Balaguer 
was  determined  to  retire  into  private  hfe  ;  he  was  completely 
wearied  and  disillusioned. 

In  literature  he  is  considered  the  equal  of  Menendez 
y  Pelayo,  and  in  poetry  he  had  nobly  divided  the  honours 
with  Mistral  during  the  two  years  which  he  spent  in  Provence. 

The  renaissance  of  the  Catalan  language  was  mainly  due 
to  Balaguer's  efforts  ;  his  poems  in  his  native  tongue  are 
of  extreme  beauty,  though  he  wrote  equally  well  in 
Castilian. 

Barcelona — the  capital  of  the  old  Principado  de  Cataluna — 

is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  in  Spain.     And  it  is  the  most 

prosperous.     From  a  commercial  point  of  view 

Barcelona.       Bilbao  begins  to  run  it  very  close,  but  the 

lovely  city  on  the  borders  of  the  Mediterranean 

must    long    remain    queen    of    the    Iberian    Peninsula.     Of 

Barcelona  Cervantes  has  said  :    "  It  is  the  home  of  courtesy, 

asylum  of  strangers,  shelter  of  the  poor,  land  of  the  brave, 

refuge  of  offenders,  and  the  common  centre  of  all  that  is  sincere 

in  friendship.     It  is  the  flower  of  beautiful  cities  of  the  world. " 

Barcelona  is  about  the  same  size  as  Manchester,  and  as 
regards  population  these  two  great  commercial  centres  run 
almost  parallel,  but  the  Spanish  city  has  the  immense 
advantage  of  being  spread  out  along  the  borders  of  that 
wonderful  cobalt  sea  which  attracts  and  holds  our  imagination 
with  such  sustained  vigour. 

And  then  it  has  been  most  carefully  and  skilfully  planned. 
The  great  park  and  the  Jardines  de  la  Ciudadela  cover  an 
area  of  more  than  seventy-five  acres,  and  they  are  exquisitely 
laid  out.  In  all  the  length  and  breadth  of  Spain  there  is  not 
one  other  such  park. 

A  very  curious  and  interesting  feature  connected  with 
Barcelona  is  the  perfect  way  in  which  things  beautiful  and 
things  useful  are  balanced.     The  Catalans  seem  to  set  as  high 


Catalufia  and  the  Catalans  251 

a  value  on  beautiful  and  healthy  surroundings  as  on  com- 
mercial successes,  and  this  is  why  a  visit  to  the  chief  city  of 
Catakma  calls  up  surprise  as  well  as  delight. 

During  his  last  visit  to  Barcelona  King  Alfonso  inaugurated 
works  for  the  interior  reform  of  the  city.  Beautiful  as  it  is, 
there  are  many  of  the  older  parts  whose  disappearance  would 
add  greatly  to  its  attractions,  even  though  some  picturesque 
streets  and  squares  would  be  lost.  It  was  at  first  proposed 
to  destroy  entirely  the  old  quarters  of  the  town  and  to  build 
wider  streets.  The  suggested  improvements  cannot  all  be 
achieved  at  once,  but  a  wide  avenue  is  to  be  constructed  in 
order  to  unite  the  Ramblas  and  the  Port  with  the  new  part 
of  the  town.  This  has  been  rendered  essential  by  the  immense 
increase  of  trade,  and  the  consequent  augmentation  of  traffic 
within  the  past  ten  years.  To  construct  this  avenue  it  will 
be  necessary  to  pull  down  over  400  houses  and  two  entire 
squares.  The  ultimate  ambition  of  the  authorities  is  to 
build,  wherever  it  may  be  possible,  long  straight  boulevards 
like  those  in  Paris,  which  city  Barcelona  very  much  resembles, 
only  on  a  smaller  scale. 

Strangers  visiting  the  Catalan  capital  are  immediately 
impressed  with  the  extraordinary  activity  of  its  inhabitants 
and  the  amount  of  business  they  transact 
B*a?cdoni"  during  the  day.  One  might  weU  apply  to 
Barcelona  the  observation  made  by  a  French- 
man regarding  London :  "  Everyone  seems  to  be  going 
somewhere  in  a  great  hurry  !  " 

This  press  of  business  never  relaxes,  even  during  the 
summer  months,  and  the  Barcelon6s  rarely  finds  himself  able 
to  take  a  holiday. 

It  is  becoming  more  and  more  usual  for  the  women  of  the 
family  to  migrate  for  the  hot  season  to  one  of  the  charming 
seaside  or  inland  pueblos,  which  surround  Barcelona,  while 
the  men  spend  the  day  in  town,  only  returning  in  the  evening. 
More  than  200  trains  run  daily  between  the  city  and  these 
outlying  villages.     Those  who  are  less  fortunate,  such  as  the 


252  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

clerks  and  employees  of  commercial  houses,  think  themselves 
lucky  to  be  able  to  spend  Sunday  with  their  families. 

The  summer  population  is  thus  largely  composed  of  men, 
though  an  ever  increasing  number  of  visitors  from  the  interior 
of  Spain  and  the  south  of  France  make  Barcelona  their  holiday 
centre.  The  restaurants  cater  well  for  these  visitors  and  for 
the  business  man  who  is  retained  at  his  post  by  press  of  work. 

Nowhere  else  in  Spain  can  one  lunch  and  dine  so  cheaply 
or  so  well  as  in  the  capital  city  of  Catalufia. 

A  speciality  of  the  city  is  the  iaberna,  which  has  no  con- 
nection with  other  establishments  of  the  same  name  in  the 
Peninsula  !  The  taberna  of  Barcelona  is  an  airy  restaurant, 
elegantly  and  artistically  furnished,  where  immaculately 
dressed  waiters  serve  an  excellent  meal  at  an  incredible  price. 
Rice  and  fish,  the  famous  Catalan  stew,  fresh  fruit,  bread  and 
wine  may  be  enjoyed  for  the  sum  of  one  peseta — or  about 
ninepence-halfpenny — and  the  choice  of  dishes  is  long  and 
varied. 

After  lunch  business  is  resumed  until  five  o'clock,  when 
sparkling  lights  begin  to  twinkle  under  a  sapphire  sky  and  the 
stations  are  crowded  with  thousands  of  men  hurrying  back 
to  some  cool  seaside  town  or  some  sweet  scented  mountain 
village. 

The  recent  visit  of  the  King  and  Queen  to  Catalufia  aroused 

much  discussion  in  Spain.     Many  journals  declared  that  it 

was  most  dangerous  for  the  Royal  Family  to 

^^o  CaSu~a^'*  ^^^^^  Barcelona,  which  was,  in  their  opinion, 

still  a  hot-bed  of  anarchy.     The  result  of  the 

Royal  visit,  however,  proved  that  these  forebodings  were 

entirely  without  foundation.     As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  King 

and  Queen,  by  their  foresight  and  tact,  did  more  to  ensure  the 

adherence  of  Catalufia  than  could  possibly  have  been  imagined. 

Everywhere  they  were  received  with  unconcealed  enthu- 
siasm ;  they  entered  into  direct  contact  with  all  social  classes, 
from  the  aristocracy  of  Barcelona  to  the  miners  of  the  most 
remote  districts,  and  the  legend  which  persistently  represented 


Cataluna  and  the  Catalans  253 

Cataluna  as  a  storm-centre  of  revolution  has  fallen  into 
disrepute. 

The  Catalans  have  not,  however,  renounced  any  of  their 
political  aspirations,  nor  do  they  intend  to  forego  any  of  their 
ancient  rights. 

The  growing  sympathy  of  Cataluna  for  the  Monarchy  is 
largely  due  to  the  charming  personalities  of  the  reigning 
monarchs,  and  is,  of  course,  also  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
Spanish  Government  has  completely  changed  its  policy 
regarding  the  Catalans ;  the  tendency  to  accede,  as  far  as 
may  be  possible,  to  their  demands,  which  have  never  been 
unreasonable,  has  made  a  most  favourable  impression. 

The  people  have  confidence  in  Maura's  policy,  and  sooner 
or  later  the  Regionalists  will,  in  all  probability^  join  forces 
with  the  Monarchical  party. 

The  Spanish  Government  has  it  in  its  power  to  ensure  the 
permanent  adherence  of  Cataluna,  and  it  will  certainly  make 
use  of  the  opportunity  offered  for  reconciliation. 

The  Monarchy  now  represents  the  peaceful  and  orderly 
Government  so  necessary  to  the  Catalans  who,  in  their  turn, 
contribute  enormously  to  the  industry  and  culture  which  is 
essential  to  Spain. 

The  Catalans  have  always  fully  realised  the  necessity  of 

supplementing  education  with  a  serious  and  practical  study 

of  art   and  music.     They  have  understood 

^n  Ba"cel?na"^  *^^*     ^^^^^     national     aspirations     towards 

autonomy  cannot  be  successfully  developed 

without  a  fundamental  basis  of  culture  which  would  place 

Catalufia  on  a  level  with  the  great  intellectual  centres  of 

Europe. 

Until  quite  recently  a  serious  drawback  to  the  development 
of  art  in  Spain  has  been  the  fact  that  almost  all  serious  students 
with  advanced  ideas  have  left  Spain  to  pursue  their  studies, 
and,  finding  far  greater  facilities  offered  to  them  abroad,  have 
not  returned  to  their  native  land  at  all. 

The  Catalans  are  determined  that  their  students  at  least 
17a— (2399) 


254  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

shall  have  such  exceptional  opportunities  offered  to  them  for 
study  at  home  that  there  will  be  no  need  for  them  to  leave 
Spain  in  search  for  a  wider  scope  for  their  talents. 

The  Junta  de  Museos  y  Bellas  Artes  has  already  contributed 
enormously  to  the  progress  of  culture  in  Cataluna,  and  it  has 
recently  formulated  a  new  plan  of  compaign  by  which  the 
most  eminent  professors  in  Europe  will  come  to  Barcelona 
to  give  instruction  in  the  various  branches  of  art  and  science. 

In  this  the  Catalans  have  followed  the  example  of  the 
Japanese,  who  have  found  it  of  far  greater  advantage  to  their 
country  to  import  foreign  professors  than  to  grant  pensions 
in  order  to  enable  students  to  finish  their  education 
abroad. 

The  Conferences  already  given  by  the  Association  above 
mentioned  and  those  announced  for  this  year  are  of  the 
greatest  interest.  Aubry  has  lectures  on  the  history  of  music  ; 
Professor  Pottier,  of  the  Musee  du  Louvre,  has  treated  of  the 
Greek  ceramics  of  Ampurias. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  of  all  was  the  dissertation  on 
Iberian  ceramics  of  Professor  Pierre  Paris,  who  has  drawn 
the  attention  of  the  scientific  world  to  the  importance  of 
Spanish  influence  on  the  ceramic  industry.  His  notes  on  the 
ancient  industries  of  Spain  were  a  revelation  to  the  Spaniards 
themselves. 

It  was  Professor  Paris  who  purchased  for  the  Louvre  the 

famous  "  Lady  of  Elche,"  which,  had  the  law  forbidding  the 

exportation  of  art  treasures  been   in  force, 

f  El'h    '^      would  never  have  been  permitted  to  leave 

Spain.     Of  this  wonderful  bust,  which  dates 

back  to  about  440  B.C.,  Professor  Pierre  Paris,  in  his  "  Essai 

sur  I'Art  et  I'lndustrie  de  I'Espagne  Primitive,"  says — 

In  her  enigmatic  face,  ideal  and  yet  real,  in  her  living  eyes,  on  her 
voluptuous  lips,  on  her  placid  and  severe  forehead,  are  summed  up 
all  the  nobility  and  austerity,  the  promises  and  the  reticences,  the 
charm,  and  the  mystery  of  woman.  She  is  oriental  by  her  luxurious 
jewels  and  by  vague  technical  traditions  which  the  sculptor 
has  preserved  in  the  modelling  :    she    is    Greek,  even  Attic,  by    an 


Catalufia  and  the  Catalans  255 

inexpressiblejflower  of  genius  which  gives  to  her  the  same  perfume  as  to 
her  sisters  on  the  Acropolis  :  she  is  above  all  Spanish,  not  only  by  the 
mitre  and  the  great  wheels  that  frame  her  delicate  head,  but  by  the 
disturbing  strangeness  of  her  beauty.  She  is  indeed  more  than  Spanish  : 
she  is  Spain  itself,  Iberia  arising  still  radiant  from  the  tomb  in  which 
she  had  been  buried  for  more  than  twenty  centuries. 

This  year  the  Conferences  are  to  treat  mainly  of  modem 
art,  each  lecture  being  illustrated  by  slides  or  by  objects  lent 
by  the  Museo.  The  success  of  these  Art  Conferences  is  most 
remarkable.  The  Catalans  have  eagerly  seconded  the  efforts 
of  the  authorities  to  complete  the  national  education,  a  charge 
which  has  never  been  adequately  fulfilled  by  the  State. 

During  the  past  year  the  amount  of  good  achieved  by 
individual  effort  is  almost  unbelievable  ;  more  than  1,300 
Conferences  have  been  given  by  the  various  societies  on  such 
subjects  as  Art,  Industry,  Science,  Sport,  Literature,  PoUtical 
Economy,  Art  applied  to  Industry,  etc.,  etc.  And  such 
Associations  as  the  Ateneo  Obrero  and  the  Centra  Autonomista 
are,  in  fact,  universities  in  themselves,  since  four  or  five 
lectures  are  given  daily  by  the  best  professors. 

Last  year,  1908,  was  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  re- 
institution  of  the  Floral  Games,  and  it  was  made  the  occasion 
of  great  rejoicing  in  Catalufia.  These  historic 
The  Jochs  contests  were  founded  in  1393  by  Juan  I  of 
Catalufia.  Aragon,  for  the  encouragement  of  Catalan 
literature,  which,  owing  to  his  effort  attained  a 
high  degree  of  perfection  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  chief  pri2e 
at  these  poetic  contests  has  always  been  an  artificial  flower 
and  the  title  Mesfre  en  Gay  Saber,  which  title  was  keenly 
sought  after  by  the  most  famous  troubadours  of  the  fourteenth 
and  fifteenth  centuries. 

When  Catalufia  fell  upon  evil  days  the  Floral  Games  were 
discontinued,  and  it  was  not  until  1859,  when  the  efforts  of  a 
few  notable  Catalans  to  revive  the  national  spirit  had  met 
with  a  measure  of  success,  that  they  were  re-instituted. 

Catalufia  of  to-day  is  a  remarkable  example  of  what  can  be 
achieved  by  single  individuals.     A  little  group  of  patriots. 


256  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

among  whom  were  Victor  Balaguer  and  Mila  y  Fontanals, 
initiated  the  renaissance  of  the  Catalan  language  and  literature 
and  re-established  the  Floral  Games  which  have  contributed 
greatly  not  only  to  the  maintenance  of  the  language,  but  to  the 
national  spirit  of  patriotism  which  has  lead  to  the  triumphant 
reinstatement  of  the  ancient  rights  of  Catalufia. 

In  1859  it  was  decided  that  Catalan  was  the  only  language 
to  be  spoken  at  the  Floral  Games,  and  that  representatives 
were  to  be  sent  from  all  the  provinces  or  districts  where 
Catalan  was  spoken.  In  1908,  ten  districts  were  represented, 
among  which  were  Valencia,  Mallorca,  Provence,  Rosellon, 
and  Bearne. 

The  Fiesta  was  held  in  the  Palacio  de  Bellas  Artes,  which 
was  decorated  for  the  occasion  with  exquisite  flowers.  The 
poems  were  read  aloud  and  a  notable  discourse  was  pronounced 
by  Seiior  Menendez  y  Pelayo,  after  which  the  prize  was 
presented  according  to  tradition,  by  the  Queen  of  the  Fiesta. 

The  closing  ceremony  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  was  most 
beautiful  and  significant.  The  monument  to  Verdaguer  was 
unveiled,  in  the  village  of  Folgaroles,  where,  in  a  humble 
labourer's  cottage  had  been  born  one  of  the  greatest  poets  of 
the  nineteenth  century — the  immortal  author  of  Atlantidu' 
and  the  Cants  Mistichs. 

Nothing  could  be  imagined  more  typical  of  Catalufia  than 
the  long  procession  of  representatives  of  the  Jochs  Florals^ 
which  wound  its  way  slowly  through  the  valley,  shadowed  by 
snow-covered  mountain  peaks. 

The  procession  was  headed  by  the  Consistorio  of  the  Jochs 
Florals,  followed  by  the  Queen  of  the  Fiesta,  the  Ayuntamiento 
of  Barcelona,  many  literary  and  political  societies,  the  Bishop 
of  Vich  and  innumerable  ecclesiastics,  besides  country  farmers 
and  working  men  ;  a  mixed  crowd  which  fitly  represented 
the  admirers  of  Verdaguer,  whose  poetry  is  quite  as  well  known 
among  the  labouring  men  of  Catalufia  as  it  is  in  the  most 
intellectual  circles  of  Spain. 

In  considering  the  growth  of  Industry  and  Art  in  Catalufia 


Catalufia  and  the  Catalans  257 

one  finds  oneself  continually  marvelling  at  the  rapidity  of  this 

growth  and  with  the  daily  development  of  this  enterprising 

province.      Nowhere   else  in   Spain  can  one 

Music  m       Yiear  such  good  music  as  in  Cataluna :  indeed, 

most  of  the  other  provinces  are  remarkable 

for  their  lack  of  musical  enterprise. 

The  Opera  in  Barcelona  is  admittedly  superior  to  that  of 
Madrid  and  concerts  are  innumerable  and  excellent.  Never- 
theless the  musical  renaissance  of  Cataluna  dates  back  only 
some  twenty  years.  This  renaissance  was  organised  by  a  few 
enthusiastic  Catalans,  whose  main  object  was  the  development 
of  their  own  characteristic  national  music.  This  group  of 
enthusiasts  was  composed  of  Domenech  and  Montaner ; 
Menendez  y  Pelayo,  Guimera  and  Verdaguer,  with  a  few 
others  ;  a  httle  circle  of  painters,  poets,  scientists,  who  formed 
the  nucleus  of  the  great  Catalan  movement,  of  which  we  are 
only  now  beginning  to  realise  the  importance. 

A  few  young  musicians  formed  an  embryo  Choral  Society 
for  the  interpretation  of  Catalan  music  and  for  the  study  of 
the  great  foreign  masters.  At  the  same  time  Mila  y  Fontanals, 
and  a  few  other  poets,  undertook  to  collect  and  revise  the 
Cantos  Populares  of  Cataluna,  in  this  manner  unearthing  an 
inexhaustible  treasure  of  verse  from  which  numerous  com- 
posers have  sought  inspiration.  This  movement,  which 
commenced  in  the  most  unpretentious  way  possible,  quickly 
spread  over  a  vast  field,  and  the  humble  little  house  in  which 
the  band  of  enthusiasts  were  wont  to  meet  became  quite 
inadequate  for  their  requirements. 

Little  by  little  their  influence  grew  and  gained  strength, 
and  in  these  latter  days  they  have  found  themselves  in  a 
position  to  realise  their  fondest  wish,  which  was  to  establish 
an  ideal  Palace  of  Music  in  Barcelona. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  home  of  the  Orfeo  Catala 
otherwise  than  as  a  "  Palace  of  Music,"  for  it  is  indeed  that. 
This  is  a  very  large  and  important  building  of  beautiful  design. 
It  possesses  many  splendid  adornments  of  wrought  iron,  and 


258  Spain  of  the  Spanish 

one  of  its  remarkable  features  is  the  beautiful  majolica 
staircase  which  leads  to  the  concert  room  on  the  first  floor. 

This  concert  hall  may  be  said  to  be  unique  in  Spain.  It 
is  very  handsomely  decorated  and  capable  of  seating  a  vast 
number  of  persons  :  the  galleries  are  outlined  with  garlands 
of  majolica  flowers,  and  the  platform  is  surrounded  by  fine 
statuary.  A  notable  feature  of  this  hall  is  that  it  is  possible 
in  it  for  three  choral  groups  to  sing  at  the  same  time,  as  is 
demanded  by  some  modern  maestros. 

In  a  recent  issue  of  Blanco  y  Negro  an  interesting  article 

appeared,   relative   to   a   novel  enterprise   which  has   been 

inaugurated   in   Barcelona.     This   enterprise 

Enterorise        ^^    °^    ^^*^^    general    interest — and    outside 

Spain --that   I   quote   at  some  length   from 

the  article — 

The  house  of  Industria  y  Arte  Mecanico  of  Barcelona  has  been 
recently  founded  for  the  development  of  an  industry  new  in  Spain, 
and  one  which  is  likely  to  produce  a  real  revolution  in  the  art  of  building. 
Industria  y  Arte  Mecanico  will  be  a  powerful  auxiliary  for  architects, 
master-builders,  constructors  and  decorators.  It  will  be  indispensable 
to  proprietors  of  estates  and  to  shipbuilders,  since  it  undertakes  all 
classes  of  construction  ;  such  as  marble  staircases,  pavements,  and 
house  decorations — the  latter  in  the  widest  sense,  since  they  undertake 
the  decoration  of  walls,  ceilings,  doors,  and  windows  :  carvings  in 
relief,  tapestries,  etc.  This  establishment  counts  among  its  members 
many  artists  and  first-class  draughtsmen  who  are  thoroughly  competent 
to  execute  work  of  all  kinds  in  a  finished  manner.  They  can  furnish 
plans  when  required,  or  can  work  from  those  supplied  to  them  :  every- 
thing they  do  is  marked  by  a  perfection  of  finish  and  by  economy — 
of  time  and  money. 

Though  the  Casa  de  Industria  y  Arte  Mecanico  has  only  been 
established  a  comparatively  short  time  it  has  already  had  many  notable 
successes.  It  has,  within  a  short  space  of  time,  executed  a  large 
number  of  important  works  for  the  most  famous  architects  and  builders 
of  Spain.  Among  these  works  must  be  mentioned  the  ornamental 
sculpture  of  the  facade  of  the  new  Casino  of  Madrid  :  this  beautiful 
sculpture  was  carried  out  from  the  plans  of  the  distinguished  architect, 
Don  Jos6  Sallaberry,  and  under  his  direction.  Mention  must  also  be 
made  of  over  twenty  splendid  staircases  in  white  and  coloured  marbles 
which  have  been  constructed  by  the  "  Casa  "  from  the  plans  of  various 
architects  :  works  in  marble  for  the  Palacio  de  Justicia  in  Barcelona 
under  the  direction  of  the  architects,  Senores  Domenech  and  Laguier, 
and  some  really  fine  altars. 


Catalufia  and  the  Catalans  259 

I  have  not  attempted  to  exhaust  the  subject  of  Catalufia — 

much  less  of  the  Catalans — in  a  single  short  chapter,  but  I 

hope  I  have  been  able  to  indicate  something 

A  Final  Word,   of  the  aspirations  and  achievements  of  this 

province  and  its  dauntless  people.     A  slight 

study  of  this  chapter  alone  will  help  to  prove  that  I  have 

reason  on  my  side  when  I  repeat  that  Spain  is  the  Land  of 

the  Unexpected,  and  that  in  Spain — there  are  many  Spains ! 

And  it  is  because  of  all  these  differences  of  race  and  climate 

and  temperament  that  the  Spanish  problem  has  for  so  long 

been  a  very  difficult  one  to  solve. 

Would-be  critics,  who  know  little  of  the  heart  and  soul  of 
the  country,  and  who  so  often  emulate  our  friends  at  the 
bull-fight  who  find  it  delightfully  easy  to  "  tor  ear  from  the 
tendidos,"  ought  to  take  time  for  quiet  reflection.  Time  in 
which  to  realise  the  overwhelming  difficulties  of  those  who 
are  in  the  midst  of  the  fight,  down  in  the  arena. 

It  is  not  easy  to  understand  either  Spain  or  the  Spaniards, 
but  that  does  not  take  from  the  fact  that  there  is — in  country 
as  in  people — very  much  to  understand  and  very  much  to 
admire. 

For  my  own  part,  I  can  find  it  in  my  heart  to  wish,  and 
fervently,  that  Spain  may  find  a  way  of  again  becoming  a 
great  power  in  the  land  without  losing  her  precious  indivi- 
duahty,  for,  with  Mr.  ElHs,  I  feel  that  "  we  have  yet  to  travel 
far  before  we  attain  to  the  Spaniard's  insight  into  the  art  of 
living,  his  fine  parsimony  in  life,  lest  for  hfe's  sake  he  should 
lose  the  causes  for  living." 


INDEX 


"  A.  B.  C".  Illustrated  paper,  100 
Actors,     the     best,     94 ;      Maria 
Guerrero   and   Fernando   Men- 
doza,     95 ;      Matilde     Moreno, 
96.     {See  also  Theatres.) 
Agriculture,   difficulties  of  irriga- 
tion, 189,  190,  191  ;    the  Vine- 
yards, 203,  204  ;  the  cultivation 
of  oranges,  206  ;   the  olive  yards, 
207,  208  ;    possibilities  of  fruit 
cultivation,  209  ;    palm  groves 
and  cultivation,  228 
Alfonso   XIII,    King,    1  ;     King's 
personal  bravery,  6  ;    the  King 
at    San    Sebastian,     12  ;      the 
King's     yachts,      13  ;       King's 
visit    to    Barcelona,    251,    252, 
253 
Alfonso  XII,   popularity  of,    1. 
Alhambra,  the,  166,  167,  168,  169 
Almaden,  mines  of,  192,  193,  194 
Anthropology,  criminal,  19  ;  works 
of    Salillas,    the    great    anthro- 
pologist, 20,  21 
Arbos,  Fernandez,  14,  146,  147 
Art,  63;  Modem  Spanish  painters, 
63  ;  Influence  of  Velasquez,  63  ; 
"  Las    Meninas,"    63  ;     Murillo 
as  a  great  idealist,  64  ;    influ- 
ence of   the  French  school,  64  ; 
Sorolla's  portraits,  65  ;  Zuloaga, 
66  ;  vivid  colouring  of  Zuloaga's 
works,     68 ;      Antonio     de     la 
Gandara,  67  ;    Rusiiiors  Span- 
ish  gardens,    70,    71  ;     a   great 
fruit   and    flower   painter,    72  ; 
the  art  of  Villegas,  72,  73,  74  ; 
Moroccan    pictures    of    Bilbao, 
75  ;    Carbonero's  great  picture, 

77  ;  his  pictures  of  Don  Quixote, 

78  ;  Diego  Lopez,  78,  79  ;  Juan 


Sala,  80  ;  the  work  of  Roberto 
Montenegro,  81 ;  notable  sculp- 
tors :  Benlliure,  81  ;  Miranda, 
82  ;  Blay,  83  ;  the  Association 
of  Spanish  artists  in  Paris  and 
its  founders,   83 

Art  treasures,  the  exportation  o  , 
23,  24 

Asturias,  Prince  of,  8 

Avil6s,  Doctor  Jose,  177 

Balaguer,  Victor,  243,  249,  250 
Barcelona,   250,   251,   252,   253 
Bazan,  Condesa  Emilia  Pardo,  28  ; 
short  stories  of,  31  ;    books  of, 
34  ;    her  woman's  library,  35 
Beggars,    222 
Bells,  of  the  Giralda,  175 
Benevente  Jacinto,   93 
Benlliure,  sculpture  of,  81 
Bilbao,  Gonzalo,  painter,  75,  76 
"  Blanco  y  Negro,"    100 
Blay,  sculpture  of,  82,  83 
Bodegas,  the,  of  Jerez,  201 
"  Bombita,"     the    famous     bull- 
fighter,   112,    122 
Breton,  Tomas,  the  greatest  Span- 
ish composer,    144  ;    early  life, 
145  ;   "  Los  amantes  de  Teruel," 
145  ;    other  operas,  146 
Bull-fight,     inaccuracy    of    usual 
accounts  of,  108  ;    the  Spanish 
points     of     view,      109  ;       the 
"  Tienta,"  110  ;   a  famous  pica- 
dor,   111  ;     Easter   Corrida   at 
Sevilla,   112;      "  Bombita  "  at 
Tablada,  112  ;    the  dress  of  the 
toreros,     115,     116;      different 
classes     of     bulls,     1 16 ;      the 
Miura  bulls,  117;    the  "  suerte 
de  Varas,"    118;    the  "suerte 


260 


Index 


261 


de  banderillas,"  119;  the 
"  suerte  de  matar,"  120  ;  Bom- 
bita,  122 ;  Machaquito,  122 ; 
points  in  favour  of  bull- 
fight,   123 

Canovas   del   Castillo,    2 
Carbonero,   Moreno,   77,   78 
Caridad,  Church  of  the,   177,   178 
Cathedrals,  Burgos,   185  ;    Barce- 
lona,     186;       Segovia,       181; 
Sevilla,     173,     174,     175,     176; 
Santiago,  184  ;  Tarragona,  182  ; 
Toledo,    179;    180;     Zaragoza. 
237 
Cataluna,  239;    history  of,  240; 
Catalan    language,    241,    242; 
characteristics  of  Catalans,  243, 
244 ;       political     situation     in 
Catalufia,   245,   246,   247,   248; 
Barcelona,  250,  251,  252,  253  ; 
the    Jochs    Florals,    255,    256; 
music  in  Cataluna,  257  ;  Catalan 
enterprise,    255 ;     Victor   Bala- 
guer,     243,     249,    250;      Pi    y 
Margall,   246 ;     King  Alfonso's 
visit    to    Barcelona,    251,    252, 
253 ;      Verdaguer,     243,     256  ; 
"  Bases    de    Manresa,"     great 
Catalan   assembly,    246,    247 
"  Carmen,"  of  Bizet,  218 
Ceramic  art,  198,   199 
Cervantes,  great  influence  of,  27 
Chamber   of   Deputies,    qualifica- 
tions necessary  for  election  to, 
5 
Churches,    166,   sqq. 
Cid  Campeador,  the,   185 
Commerce,    189   sqq. 
Concerts  in  Barcelona,  257 
Conservatorio  of  Madrid,   150 
Cordova,  the  Mosque  of.  169,  170, 

171 
Cortes  and   Congress,    4 
Cristina,  Queen,  excellent  Regent, 
2 


Damaskeened  Work,  208 


Dancing,  124,  125,  126,  127 
"  Don   Juan  Tenorio,"    177 
Dotesio,   Luis,   great  music  pub- 
hsher,   153,   154 

Echegaray,  Jos6,  dramatist,  his 
most  successful  plays,  88,  89. 

Education,  schools,  14  ;  want  of 
teachers,  15  ;  education  in 
Catalufia,   253,  254,  255 

"  Electra,"    47 

Empress  Eugenie,  the,  218,  219 

Feria,  the,  at  Sevilla,  235 
Fiestas,    227  ;     Fiesta    del    Pilar, 

235  ;    Fiestas  at  Granada,  237  ; 

Holy  Week  at  Sevilla,  228,  229, 

230,  231  ;   Fiestas  at  B6jar,  237 
Fleet,  construction  of,  24,  25 
Flower    cultivation,     possibilities 

of,   213 
French      influence      on      Spanish 

literature,  60,  61  ;    influence  on 

art,  64 

Galdos,  Perez,  his  early  life,  42  ; 

his  principal  books,  43,  44,  45, 

46,    47  ;     his    plays,    89  ;     his 

striking  individuality,  90.  91,  92. 
Galicia,  Condesa  de  Pardo  Bazan's 

books  on,  29 
Gandara,  Antonio  de  la,  67 
Ganivet,  Angel,  extracts  from  his 

"  Idearium  Espafiol,"  156-165  ; 

his   play   "  El    Escultor   de   su 

Alma,"  94 
Garcia,    Manuel,    138,    139,    140; 

his  great  discovery,   141 
Gipsy  Dances,  the,  128 
Giralda,   the,   175 
Guerrero,  Maria,  95 
Cuervos,   the  Court  Pianist,    149 

Historical  works  of  Menendez  y 

Pelayo,  48 
History  of  Cataluna,  240 
Holy  week.  the.  at  Sevilla,  228, 

229.  230,  231 


262 


Index 


IbaSez,  Blasco,  great  Spanish 
realist,  53 ;  his  "  Cuentos 
Valencianos,"  53  ;  "  Flor  de 
Mayo,"  54,  55  ;  "  Sangre  y 
Arena,"  56,  57  ;  influence  of 
Zola,  58  ;  his  adventurous  life, 
58 

Illustrated  papers,  103.  {See  also 
"  Newspapers.") 

Images  carried  during  Holy  Week, 
230 

"  Imparcial,  el,"  98 

Industries,   189  5^^. 

Irrigation,   189,   190,  191 

Jerez,    199  sqq. 

Jochs  Florals  of  Cataluna,  255, 
256 

Lara,  Manrique  de,  148 

"  Liberal,  El,"  98 

Literature,  works  of  Valera,  26  ; 
influence  of  Cervantes,  27  ; 
Emilia  Pardo  Bazan,  28  ;  poems 
of  Eduardo  Pondal,  30  ;  short 
stories  of  E.  P.  Bazan,  31,  32  ; 
the  "  Pazos  de  Ulloa "  and 
"  La  Quimera,"  34  ;  E.  P. 
Bazan's  "  Woman's  Library," 
35  ;  Juan  Valera,  37  ;  influence 
of  Zola,  37  ;  realism  in  Spanish 
Literature,  38  ;  Valera's  hero- 
ines, 39  ;  character  of  Valera, 
40  ;  principal  works  of  Valera, 
41,  42 ;  early  life  of  Perez 
Galdos,  42;  "  Episodios  Nac- 
ionales,"  43 ;  religion  and 
politics  in  Galdos'  works,  44  ; 
"  Angel  Guerra,"  45  ;  ideals  of 
Galdos,  46  ;  "  Electra  "  and 
"  Dona  Perfecta,"  47  ;  Menen- 
dez  y  Pelayo,  eminent  critic 
and  historian,  works  of,  48  ; 
Leopoldo  Alas,  "  Clarin,"  49  ; 
Pereda,  literary  style  of,  50 ; 
chief  works  of,  51,  52  ;  Blasco 
Ibaiiez,  great  Spanish  realist, 
53 ;  influence  of  Maupassant 
and    Zola,    53 ;     short    stories. 


"  Flor  de  Mayo,"  55,  56 ; 
realism  in  "  Sangre  y  Arena," 
56,  57  ;  comparison  between 
Zola  and  Ibafiez,  58 ;  Juan 
Ochoa's  finest  books,  60  ;  other 
notable  Spanish  writers,  60 ; 
Palacio  Valdes,  60  ;  effects  of 
French  influence,  61  ;  minor 
poets,    61 

Llobet,  Miguel,    151 

Local  Government  Bill,  the,  4 

Lopez,  Diego,  78,  79 

Loyola,  Ignatius,   188 

Machaquito,  famous  bull- 
fighter,   122 

Madrid,  Palace  of,  8 ;  situation, 
climate  and  population,   10 

Mantilla,  the  215,  216 

"  Mantones  de  Manila,"  the  132, 
133 

Maeztu,  Ramiro  de,  16,  102 

Maupassant,  influence  on  Spanish 
literature,  53 

Maura,  Antonio,  2,  3,  4 

Mendoza,   Fernando,   95 

Menendez  y  Pelayo,  48 

Mensaque,  Jose,  manufacturer  of 
Moorish   titles,    199 

Minerals,  189 

Mines,  of  Almaden,  192,  193,  194  ; 
of  Rio  Tinto,  195,  196,  197; 
mines  of  Bilbao,  197 

Miranda,  Fernando,  sculptor, 
82 

Miura  Bulls,    117 

Montenegro,  Roberto,  81 

Montserrat,   187,   188 

Moreno,   Matilde,   96 

Mosque  at  Cordova,  169,  170,  171, 
172 

Murillo,  64 

Museo  del  Prado,  9' 

Music,  Manuel  Garcia,  138,  139, 
140 ;  discovery  of  laryngos- 
cope, 141  ;  Sarasate,  143;  144; 
Breton,  Tomas,  145  ;  orches- 
tral music,  146 ;  Fernandez 
Arbos,     146,      147 ;      chamber 


Index 


263 


music  in  Madrid,  147  ;  Man- 
riquedeLara,  148  ;  Chapi,  149  ; 
Guer-vos,  the  Court  Pianist, 
149 ;  the  Conservatorio  of 
Madrid,  150;  Miguel  Llobet 
and  Pablo  Casals,  151  ;  the 
Valverdes,  father  and  son,  152  ; 
the  "  Zarzuelas,"  152;  Luis 
Dotesio,  the  great  music  pub- 
hsher,  153,  154 ;  progress  of 
music  in  Catalufia,  257 

Newspapers,  97  ;  "  Correspon- 
dencia  de  Espana,"  98  ;  "El 
Liberal."  98 ;  "  Heraldo  de 
Madrid,"  98  ;  "  El  Imparcial," 
98,  99  ;  the  RepubHcan  Press. 
100  ;  "  Blanco  y  Negro,"  100  ; 
"  A.B.C.,"  100 ;  "  Nuevo 
Mundo,"  101  ;  Jose  del  Perojo, 
Director  of  Nuevo  Mundo,  101  ; 
the  bull-fight  press,  102 ; 
illustrated  ioumals.  103;  report- 
ing, 103.  104,  105 

OcHOA,  Juan,  59 

Olives,   cultivation  of,   207,   208 

Operas,   composers   of,    144.    148, 

149 
Operettas.     {See  "  Zarzuelas.") 
Orange  trade,   205,   206 
Orchestral  music,   146 
Otero,      Jose,      famous     dancing 

master,    134,    135 

Palm    Groves,    and    cultivation, 

228 
Pereda,   Jose  Maria  de, '50;    his 

literary  stj-le,  51  ;    his  political 

novel,    52  ;     "  La   Montalvez," 

52 
Perojo,     Jose     del,     Director    of 

Nuevo  Munco.    101 
Pelota,    106,    107 
Poets,   minor,   61 
Polica,  school  of  in  Madrid,  17 
Pondal,   Eduardo,  poems  of,  30 
Post   Office  and    postal    reforms, 

22 


Pi  y  Margall.  246 

Press.     {See  "  Newspapers.") 

Prisons,  model  prison  of  Valencia, 

18 ;      suggestions     for     prison 

reforms,  19 

Quixote,  Don,  Carbonero's  pic- 
tures of,   78 

Realism  in  Spanish  literature,  38 
Religion  in  Galdos'   works,   44 
Reporting.   103,   104,   105 
Romanones,  Conde  de,  99,   100 
Rusiiiol,   Santiago,  71 

Sala,  Juan,  80 

Salillas.  Rafael,  great  anthropo- 
logist, 20,  21 

Sagasta,   3 

San  Sebastian,  summer  Royal 
residence,    11,    12,    13,    14 

Sarasate,  Pablo,  his  early  life, 
143 ;  his  rendering  of  the 
Mendelssohn   concerto,    144 

Schools.     {See  "  Education.") 

Sculptors  :  Benlliure,  81.  82 ; 
Miranda,  82  ;  Miguel  Blay.  63  ; 
Gustave  Obiols 

"  Seises,  the,"  231  ;  costume  of 
dancers,  232  ;  origin  of  dances, 
233.  234 

Sevilla.  172.     {See  "  Cathedrals.") 

"  Sevillanas.  the."  128 

Sherry.  199,  200,  201,  202.  203 

Ship-building  at  Ferrol,  25 

Silvela  as  public  leader.  3 

Sorolla.  Joaquin,  his  great  pic- 
ture "  A  sad  inheritance,"  65  ; 
his  portraits  of  the  King  and 
of  the  Queen  Regent,  66  ;  his 
success  in  America.  66 ;  an 
amusing  story  of  Sorolla,  84 

Spanish  ideals,  156  sqq. 

Spanish  people,  the,  211,  214,  215, 
217,  220,  223,  224 

Sports.    106  sqq. 

Statistics  of  exports  and  imports, 
210 


264 


Index 


Tax  on  stamps,  22 

"  Teatro  de  Arte  "  in  Madrid,  94 

Theatres  :    the  "  Zarzuelas,"  86 
the  serious  drama  in  Spain,  87 
the    plays    of    Echegaray,    88 
the  plays  of  Galdos,  89  ;  Galdos 
striking  individuahsm,  90  ;  psy- 
chological interest  of  his  plays, 
91  ;    "  El  Abuelo,"  91  ;    "  Bar- 
bara,"    92  ;       the     school     of 
Benevente,  93  ;    the  Teatro  de 
Arts   and   its   ideals,    93 ;     the 
best  actors  and  actresses,   94  ; 
Maria  Guerrero  and   Fernando 
Mendoza,  95  ;    Matilde  Moreno, 
96 

Toledo,  178.  [See  also  "  Cathe- 
drals.") 

Tortajada,  Consuelo,  131,  132 

Valdes,  Palacio,  60 

Valera,  Juan,  26,  37  ;  his  ideals, 
39 ;  his  heroines,  39 ;  diplo- 
matic career,  40 ;  his  most 
popular  novel,  4 1  ;  other  works, 
42 

Valverdes,  the,  well-known  com- 
posers of  "  zarzuelas,"    152 


Velasquez,  his  great  influence  on 
modern  Spanish  art,  63  ;  "  Las 
Menifias,"  63 

Verdaguer,  the  great  Catalan 
poet,  243,  256 

Victoria,  Queen,  her  charming 
personality   and    popularity,    7 

Villegas,  Jose,  Director  of  the 
Museo  del  Prado,  72  ;  early  life, 
73  ;  finest  pictures,  73  ;  "La 
Muerte  del  Maestro,"  74  ;  per- 
sonality of  Villegas,  75 

Vineyards.   203 

Wine  trade,   199;    exports,  205 
Women  in  Spain,  rights  of,  221 

Yachting  in  Spain,  13 

Zaragoza,  the  maid  of,  236.  {See 
also  "  Fiestas.") 

Zarzuelas,  the,  87,   152 

Zola,  Emile,  his  influence  on 
Spanish  literature,  37  ;  differ- 
ence between  realism  of  Zola 
and  of   Blasco  Ibanez,   58 

Zuloaga,  Ignacio,  67 ;  brilliancy 
of  his  work,  68 ;  his  picture 
"  Lola  la  Gitana,"  68 


THE   END 


Printed  by  Sir  Isaac  Pitman  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  Bath, 
(2399) 


DATE  DUE 


NQV     r 


1974 


OCT 


2  5  19/4 


r*r:.  -^rr 


44S 


UQV^i^'^ 


cJOV 

R 


2  5  W 


g  NC'V  2  7  I98g 


R 


-BttH-f 


GAYLORO 


INTEO  IN  USA. 


UC  SOUTHERN  ''^^'fiJfimVlJriJllJllS^^ 

'7 A  001  393  214  0 


3™  210  00388  0331 


iini 


